


Paradise of Taiwan Lost

by Kittycatkyla23



Series: Red Riding Hood Is Wearing Black [7]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Anal Sex, Animal Transformation, Blood, Burning, Dark fic, Established Relationship, FUCK, Fire, Hardcore, Here we go, Insanity, Just fuck man, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Shitsuo/Sakuraya, Murder, Priest!Shizuo, Priests, Tragedy, Vampires, Werewolves, Yaoi, mass character death, vampire!izaya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:49:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27079876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittycatkyla23/pseuds/Kittycatkyla23
Summary: Hachimenroppi and Tsukishima, along with their sons Hibiya and Psyche, have returned to Japan as a scouting party to see if it is safe to go back, now that the Holy Order is officially disbanded. In the meantime, the rest of the Heiwajima/Hachimen pack awaits in Taiwan for either their return with the news that they can't go back to Japan, or a letter saying it's time to go home.As the pack sets out on their journey, tensions rise as Orihara Izaya, the vampire viscount, seems to only slip further and further into madness. Heiwajima Shizuo still holds out hope that the love of his life will return to his senses. And for that hope, Shizuo will put up with whatever Izaya throws at him and will offer him continuous forgiveness.But is there a limit to what can be forgiven? Can Shizuo ignore all of Izaya's sins because he isn't in his right mind? Just how far can the vampire degrade before forgiveness isn't an option.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya, Ruby no Yubiwa/Toudaimoto Kurashi
Series: Red Riding Hood Is Wearing Black [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1100043
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14
Collections: No Happy Endings





	1. Chapter 1

“Should we bring everything?” Toudaimoto voiced. “I’m not sure what’ll happen.”

“Maybe? I’m not really sure.” Rubi said.

Rubi and Toudai had their backs to each other. The white wolf was working on the meat in the pan while Toudai was chopping the vegetables. The two were making Wagyu steak with mashed potatoes and mixed steamed veggies. Toudai finished chopping the broccoli and cauliflower and put them in the strainer with the corn over the boiled water.

“If we go on a rescue mission then we won’t need all your books to carry.” Rubi stated.

“But if it’s the letter saying everything is alright, we should just move through immediately.”

“Hm…Guess, that’s true. Maybe we should talk to Shizuo about that? See what he has to say about it.”

“That would not be a bad idea.”

“Alright, we’ll do that then. Tomorrow.”

“Yes, it’s too late to do it now.” Toudai looked out the window, seeing the pitch black against the glass. “Should we check on Shizuo before we go to bed tonight?”

“No, I think he’s okay. I don’t really want to go up.”

“But you said we should check on him every night until we leave. In case Izaya regresses at the notion of returning to Japan.”

“Well, yeah. But I think I was just being paranoid. We don’t really need to worry, do we? Izaya can’t regress that bad. Besides, going back to Japan may be good for him.”

“Or bad. It may cause those emotions he hasn’t been dealing with to skyrocket to the surface.”

“But maybe going back will force him to look at his problems head on.”

“…Well, yes…”

“It worked with me. I’m sure it can work for him.”

“Yes, but you were not mad.”

“…Well, yeah…”

The two faltered into silence. Both wanted to be optimistic but both struggled with pessimism. Neither knew what the future would bring and although they wanted to think positively, they just weren’t sure if it was blind naivety or not. It was certainly hard to be optimistic when it came to the mad Viscount.

The two silently decided to drop the subject for now. They focused on making dinner, and soon enough, they had a proper full meal ready to be served. They worked together to dish two separate plates, then went to their dining table. Rubi sat down, however, Toudai went and got two cups of water. He returned shortly and sat down across from Rubi.

“Itadakimastu.” Toudai said, clapping his hands together in prayer.

Rubi didn’t say anything and simply started to eat. Toudai knew not to question it. He had tried to teach Rubi the need to give thanks for the meal, but he didn’t see a reason to when he was the one who caught the meat they were currently eating. Roppi was the exact same. After a while, Toudai just decided it wasn’t important, not as important as other problems the Hachimen brothers had.

Many, many problems they had. It had certainly been a long ten years of therapy and trying to teach them right from wrong when they didn’t know any better. Teaching them things that should have been considered common sense, but to two mountain-dweller’s it was anything but.

Although, Toudai couldn’t complain about the extra work. Since he loved working, and since he couldn’t work out in the middle of nowhere, he was happy to give some kind of advice and to have work within the pack to do. In the last year, he had to deal with an ear-infection from Shizuo, a fever from Sakuraya, a UTI from Shitsuo, and some pulled nails from Izaya. Nothing detrimental, nothing more than a few days of monitoring and care. Nothing that could make him feel like a proper doctor. But any little bit of work was better than nothing.

Admittedly, Toudai had gotten depressed at how useless he was, but Rubi made him as happy as possible. Ten years together, they certain had only grown in their relationship. After Rubi finally put his foot down and ripped Roppi a new one on his behavior, Toudai could finally start loving Rubi properly. It was certainly hard to stay loyal to Rubi and love him properly when he was ignoring Tsuki’s suffering. It was so hard to see Rubi struggle with himself, to struggle with doing what was right and potentially losing the only family he had left. Toudai wanted to be supportive, but how could he support such wretched negligence?

Their first year in Taiwan was certainly a hard one. Toudai had constantly questioned if he made the right choice leaving Japan with Rubi. At the time, it was right. He didn't question that the Holy Order would have tried to kill him. But he didn't have to leave Japan. He could have gone to the valley town over the mountain—which he found out was where Tsuki was from. Such thoughts of doubt had gone through Toudai's mind several times during that first year. He even contemplated taking Tsuki away in the middle of the night and the two head back to the port town. He never went through with it, obviously, but that was because he knew it wouldn't end well. He knew Roppi would have followed, killed Toudai and took Tsuki back. And without Toudai, Rubi certainly wouldn't have made the right choice.

Yes, it was hard. The first year was so _harsh_. Toudai had so many doubts and so many regrets. But that all went away when Rubi finally stood against Roppi. When he finally decided enough was enough and repented— _truly_ repented! From there, their relationship had only gone up. A relationship of love and support, of mutual feelings and tender care. They had their fair share of arguments, like any couple does, but nothing that they couldn't move pass. Ten years later, the two were still together, so that spoke for itself.

Toudai paused in eating. His stomach was already feeling full. He had always struggled to eat a lot. His portions were always smaller than Rubi's, but even then he didn't want to eat too much. He always worried about gaining too much weight. His mother told him 'a lady eats sparingly to look beautiful', so he always had a terrible time trying to eat properly. Diamond tried to teach him otherwise, tried to make his eat more, but every time Toudai weighed himself and saw he was over 120lbs, he couldn't bring himself to eat.

“Eat, love.” Rubi said, pushing his plate closer to the raven.

“I'm full.”

“No, you're not. Eat.”

Toudai glowered. Rubi always scolded him for eating too little. The raven took a drink of water.

Rubi reached over and gripped a piece of cauliflower between his chopsticks. He lifted it up to Toudai's mouth. The raven glared, then he chuckled and smiled. He leaned forward and took the food in between his teeth. When his appetite doesn't let him eat, being spoon fed always does the trick.

The two ate like that for a bit. Rubi picked up Toudai's food and fed his lover until Toudai retracted.

“Break. I need a break.” Toudai said.

Rubi nodded. He returned to eating his own food while Toudai drank water. There was 1/4th of his food left while Rubi quickly finished half of his own.

“Inhaling.” Toudai stated.

Rubi paused. The wolf knew he ate his food too fast sometimes. Especially when Toudai was eating faster than Rubi was. Roppi always used to chastise Rubi for taking too long to eat, saying he was letting his food go cold and wasting it since they were in the mountain, so Rubi quickly learned to eat faster. But apparently, that wasn't right either.

Rubi slowed his roll, taking a drink of water to help that.

The two continued their way of eating. Toudai ate his food by himself while Rubi ate his. The raven felt like he shouldn't eat anymore. He was going to gain weight like this and he hated it. He had to remain slim. But he needed to eat, so he put the spoon of corn into his mouth.

“I'm full.” Toudai said, pushing his plate away.

“No, you're not.” Rubi pushed it back.

“No, I really am—”

“No. Eat. You're almost done.”

“I'm almost done, so it's fine if I don't finish two bites.”

“If you're so close to done you might as well finish those two bites.”

Toudai groaned in annoyance.

“Come on, it's fine.” Rubi said, “Just keep going.”

Rubi smiled as he grabbed a spoonful of Toudai's food and lifted it up to the doctors lips. Toudai groaned again but he opened his mouth.

“You know, it's funny to think that when we first started dating, I had no idea you had an eating problem.” Rubi mused.

“Well, we were focused more on helping you back then.”

“No, _you_ were more focused on helping me. My priority was to be with you.”

Toudai felt his cheeks warm to the sweet words. Rubi smiled at that. He could see the white flesh turn a tinge pink.

“I love you.” Toudai said.

“I love you too.”

Rubi picked up the last of Toudai's food, a piece of broccoli, and lifted it to the raven's mouth. Toudai ate it.

“Alright, alright, I ate.” Toudai said. “Your turn. Finish up.”

“Okay.”

“And don't inhale it.”

“I won't.”

Rubi smiled. Then he turned his attention to his food. At the same time, Toudai stood with his dirty dishes and went to the water basin that was their sink. He began cleaning up while Rubi devoured his dinner.

Soon enough, Rubi was also done. The blond stood and walked over to Toudai. His arms came around the raven, blocking him in so Toudai couldn't move away from the basin. Toudai noticed without question, but he decided not to say anything. He just continued to wash his dishes. Rubi put his dishes in the sink. Toudai didn't hesitate to start washing them.

Rubi tilted his head down and kissed Toudai's shoulder. The doctor didn't respond. He kissed him again. And again. Toudai turned his head and kissed Rubi's head. Rubi kissed Toudai's cheek right back. Toudai pressed his face to Rubi's lips.

“Hey,” Rubi's hands rested on Toudai's stomach. One slunk up his shirt while the other teased the tips of his fingers under the hem of his pants. “You wanna do it? We won't be able to after tonight.”

Toudai glowered. “No.”

Rubi's eyes widened before he started to pout. “Eh? Why not?”

“Because I was going to seduce you and now you ruined it.”

“Wha—!”

Toudai turned to look at him with a smile. That induced a smile as well and Rubi kissed his cheek.

“Jerk.” Rubi pouted. “That was mean.”

“I love you.”

“Do you?”

“But of course.” Toudai turned his head and kissed Rubi. “Allow me to finish dishes and to wash up.”

“Do you wanna wash up together? I think I need a bath too.”

“No, you just want an excuse to molest me.”

“I don't need an excuse to molest you.” Rubi's lips kissed the back of Toudai's neck while one hand trailed up his shirt towards his nipples and the other began undoing his pants.

Toudai pursed his lips and swallowed a moan. Rubi pressed his mouth into the crook of the raven's neck as his hands roamed. They rubbed Toudai's nipples while the other reached into his pants. His penis was fondled through his fudoshi, those coarse fingers outlining his member in a loving grip. Toudai put the dishes he was holding down, then put his hands on the edge of the basin for balance.

“Rubi...let me...” Toudai pursed his lips then began breathing a little harsh. “We need to finish the dishes first...”

“We can always do them later.”

“Rub—”

Toudai's words fell away as Rubi grind against his back. The blonde's member rubbed against the seam of his rump. Rubi was already at full mast and ready to go. Registering such a thing made Toudai even more excited and his resolve for dishes began to crumble.

The blond pushed on Toudai's pants. Once they were under his rump, they fell down on their own until they pooled around his ankles. His cock was tenting his fudoshi.

“B-bath...” Toudai said. “We should—we need—”

“We can take one afterwards.”

“But...but I don't know if-if I'm clean inside.”

“You're always clean inside.”

“But I just ate.”

Rubi wrapped his arms around Toudai. He tugged the raven back. Toudai gasped as he lost his balance. He grabbed Rubi's arms to try and keep his footing, but wasn't able to since his pants were tugging on his ankles. The raven had to kick off his jeans—which half pulled off one of his socks and he did _not_ like only having one sock on—and managed to free his feet by the time Rubi brought him to the dining room table.

“Ru-Ru—”

Rubi turned Toudai around and lifted him up, putting his hands under his rump, and placed him on the table.

“You're not going to digest your food that fast.” Rubi kissed Toudai's neck as he pulled on his buttons. “You're still clean from the last time you washed. Don't worry.”

“Bu-but I don't—” Toudai pulled his sock back up. “I don't want you to get dirty.”

“I won't get dirty.”

Toudai's shirt came undone. Rubi kissed the doctor's neck. Then his collar bone. Then his sternum. Toudai pursed his lips before tilting his head back. Rubi smiled up at him.

The blond pressed his lips against the junction of Toudai's neck and underside of his jaw. At the same time, his hands gripped the edge of Toudai's underwear. His fingers delved into the front of his fudoshi. With deft softness, he pulled the fudoshi undone. Toudai's erection was freed which made the raven exhale in relief.

Rubi wrapped his fingers around Toudai's erection and gave it generous strokes.

“ _Hah_!” The doctor moaned.

With little hesitation, the blond dropped to his knees before the doctor. Toudai looked down at him, spreading his legs a little wider in anticipation. Rubi brought his mouth close. The member twitched. Rubi smiled.

 _ **'I haven't even touched it yet.'**_ Rubi thought, but he decided not to bring that up.

Rubi brought his lips close. He kissed the member. The cock twitched again. Rubi drew his tongue up the under-vein then brought his mouth around the tip. Rubi didn't pause as he brought his mouth all the way down the length, swallowing it and bringing it into his throat.

“Hah, Rubi!” Toudai tilted his head back.

Rubi brought his orifice up, down, up, down the cock over and over and over again. Toudai moaned, his toes curling to the sensation. The blond brought his mouth down to the base, then swallowed to make his throat tighter. He then released, bringing his mouth to the tip where he swirled his tongue around the cock head. Next came Toudai's favorite sensation: he put the tip of his tongue into the urethra.

“Nngh!” Toudai clenched his teeth as he fell back to his elbows. His legs twitched furiously and threatened to close on Rubi's head. However, the raven didn't.

Rubi took his mouth off. He sat up and coaxed Toudai to lie back on the table fully, which the doctor did. Rubi then reached forward and put three fingers in front of Toudai's mouth. The doctor looked at him. Rubi tapped his lips. Toudai glowered, but it was lackluster as he smiled. The doctor opened his mouth and Rubi put his fingers in.

“Mm!” Toudai moaned, pressing his tongue against Rubi's fingers.

At the same time, Rubi reached under Toudai's rump and grabbed the back of his fudoshi. He pulled on them. Toudai worked with him, grabbing the side of his underwear and shimmying them down. Soon enough, Rubi pulled the fudoshi off all the way, trying to tug off his socks as well.

Toudai quickly turned his head to tug the fingers out of his mouth. “No! Not my socks!”

“Nope, they're coming off!” Rubi tugged them again.

“No~!”

“Yes!”

Off came one sock, along with his fudoshi. Toudai hated taking his socks off because he got cold easily. But he also hated only having one sock on because it was uneven. And he especially hated taking his socks off and putting them back on because used socks became stiff and felt dirty, so if he took them off, he couldn't put them back on. So, if he was going to take his socks off, he would have to commit to it. Rubi knew this about Toudai, however, he always thought it was Toudai being his OCD self and needed to let loose a little. Rubi respected his quirks most of the time, but sometimes—especially when it came to sex—the blond didn't care.

Toudai reached down with a grumble and took off his other sock.

“Jerk.” the doctor said.

“I love you.” Rubi said.

The blond took his wet hand away and spread Toudai's leg with his dried hand. Rubi put his head back between the raven's leg and kissed the member. Toudai twitched and moaned. Rubi kissed it again, then drew his tongue up. At the same time, his wet fingers encircled Toudai's entrance. His middle finger pushed in without hesitation.

“Nngh.” Toudai tilted his head back. “Hah~!”

Rubi's finger pushed in to the knuckle then bent up. The blond knew all of Toudai's sweet spots, what he liked and didn't like. After ten years, it would be silly if he didn't. During the last ten years, the two had never switched their roles of penetration. Although Toudai had mentioned switching it up once they were more comfortable with each other way back when they first started dating, he ended up recanting his statement. Rubi suggested it, but Toudai didn't want to. He was content being a bottom, and he didn't want to force Rubi into an uncomfortable situation when he didn't need to. Of course, Rubi wanted to argue, but he decided not to. Toudai was usually right, after all.

Rubi put his mouth back over the member as he shoved in a second finger.

“Mngh. Nngh.” Toudai moaned. “Ah, Rubi...”

The blond moved his mouth up and down Toudai's cock, making sure to put his tongue into the urethra to give Toudai maximum pleasure. The doctor's insides were so soft and were already loosening to his gentle teasing. Toudai was always so relaxed when it came to sex. It made it so easy for Rubi to just put it in and go as he will, however, he wouldn't. He knew he shouldn't. He had to make sure Toudai was properly prepared.

Rubi put in a third finger. He met no resistance, although Toudai's toes curled.

Rubi took his mouth off. “Too much?”

“N-no, it's okay.”

Rubi didn't believe him. Toudai tended to lie when he was in pain because he got satisfaction from pleasing Rubi. Although, it was a double-edged sword since Rubi couldn't find satisfaction hurting Toudai. Because of that, Rubi spent a lot of time looking at Toudai's body language over listening to his words.

Rubi removed one finger, instead focusing on giving Toudai the most amount of pleasure as he could. His mouth moved across the member as his fingers probed his sweet spot over and over again. Toudai reached one hand down and lifted his shirt and haori out of the way. His other hand reached down to entangle his fingers into Rubi's hair.

“Rubi...” Toudai moaned. “It...feels good...”

Rubi smiled as he took his mouth off, drawing his tongue over the tip. He then put in a third finger. There was no resistance and Toudai didn't cringe. Rubi spread his ring and index finger wide while his middle finger rubbed his prostate again.

“ _Ah_ , Rubi!”

“Do you want to cum first once?” Rubi asked.

Toudai opened his eyes, looking down at him. “N-No. I want...”

The doctor reached down and put his fingers around his entrance, framing it around Rubi's fingers so the blond knew where to look.

“I want to have you inside.”

Rubi's heart quickened as excitement coursed through him. “Are you sure? Does it hurt to have my fingers in?”

“No. I'm fine. You're not dirty, are you?”

Rubi removed his fingers and looked. “No, you're fine.”

The blond then stood up. He rubbed his fingers on his pants to dry them then went about taking them off. Within seconds, he dropped his pants so they pooled around his ankles. He cock was at its hardest and standing proudly. He brought himself close, rubbing his member against Toudai's.

“Heh, come here really quick.” Toudai said, sitting up. “Let me lather you up.”

The doctor slid off the table and went to his knees before Rubi. The blond didn't move, allowing him to do as he would. Toudai drew his tongue up the underside of the cock before he put his mouth over it. He tilted his head down, allowing saliva to trail down the member. He used his mouth to spread the liquids around—while also pleasuring Rubi.

Toudai didn't spend too much time doing that. As much as he would like to make Rubi cum, he also wanted Rubi inside of him. Once the member was prominently soaked, Toudai stood again. Rubi lifted the raven back up onto the table to sit down. Toudai lifted his legs up so his entrance was to the edge of the table. Rubi brought himself close.

His cock poked the underside of Toudai's balls. Rubi pushed his member down a bit until he was aligned with the raven's entrance.

“Ready?” The blond asked.

Toudai chuckled, wrapping his arms around Rubi's neck. He bumped foreheads with him as a smile crept across his face. “As if you need to ask.”

The two locked eyes. Then they leaned into each other in a fierce kiss. At the same time, Rubi pushed his hips forward. The tip became burrowed in Toudai's tight heat.

“HM!” Toudai tightened his grip.

Slowly, Rubi pushed his cock in, in, in, until he was completely sheathed inside his lover. The two finally separated their lips, Toudai exhaling heavily in bliss.

“Rubi...” Toudai's voice was just above a whisper.

“Yeah.”

Rubi put his arms under Toudai's thighs, reaching around to put his hands on the doctor's lower back. He pulled Toudai close. Then he pulled his hips back.

“Mnn...!” Toudai clenched his teeth.

Rubi slammed his hips forward.

“AH!” Toudai tilted his head back with a mighty moan.

The white wolf moved his hips lethargically, slapping their flesh together. Toudai's body jolted with every movement. He moaned softly as his grip tightened around Rubi's neck.

“Ah, hah, ahn! Ru-Rubi...!”

“Toudai...!” Rubi pressed his mouth to Toudai's neck, kissing and licking the delicious flesh. “Toudai!”

“Nn, nngh!”

Rubi and Toudai's breathing began to labor as Rubi's movements went faster. He picked up the pace as a coil began to form under his stomach. Toudai wasn't complaining. In fact, he egged him on as he dug his nails into Rubi's back, managing to apply pressure through his shirt. The doctor could already feel that coil, he already began clawing towards orgasm. And with Rubi stabbing into his sweetest point over and over and over again, Toudai wasn't that far off.

In fact, he was _so_ close!

“Ru-Rubi, harder!” Toudai moaned. “I'm gonna cum!”

The white wolf obliged. Rubi's hand tightened on Toudai's back and he spread his own legs a little wider for better stability. He then thrust hard. Hard enough that their skin slapped together and the wind was forced from Toudai's lungs—just how Toudai liked it.

“AH!” Toudai's eyes flared opened as his mouth gaped.

Rubi slammed himself against Toudai, again, and again, and again. He mustered as much strength as he could without applying more than Toudai could handle. After ten years together, he knew what Toudai's body could take—and it certainly could take a lot! So, Rubi had little fear that the rough treatment would hurt his love.

The blond felt the same coil under his stomach as Toudai. He felt that same pressure indicating his impending orgasm. It tightened more and more, begging to be released. At the same time, the coil under Toudai's stomach was also threatening to release. So close. So _close_! And with Rubi's hard pounding, he was going to reach his peak.

Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust, Rubi slammed into him over and over again. The white wolf then removed one hand and wrapped his fingers around Toudai's member.

Just that simple touch sent Toudai over the edge.

“AAAHH!” Toudai arched and tilted his head back. He held himself up by grabbing Rubi's shoulders. Sprays of white came from the tip of his member, splattering over his stomach—and a bit getting on his shirt.

The lovely tightening of Toudai's body clamped down even more so on Rubi's member. The white wolf closed his eyes and cringed with a mixture of pain and ecstasy. He slammed into Toudai hard as the coil under his stomach released as well. He flooded Toudai's inside, his cock twitching rigorously. The raven twitched to the sensation. His toes curled, he clamped down on Rubi again and again like a pulse. Rubi pulled his hips back, then thrust back in. He milked himself within the raven, finally finishing on the third thrust.

The two then fell limp. Toudai leaned back until he was lying on the table while Rubi leaned forward to prop himself on his arms over the doctor. The two were panting heavily. Toudai was twitching all over, tears of pleasure dotting his eyes. The two sat like that for quite a few minutes, just catching their breath.

“Heh, heh heh.” Toudai chuckled. “We both came a little fast there.”

“Eh, that's fine.” Rubi chuckled as well. “So long as it was both of us.”

The two shared a soft laugh.

“You want to take that bath?” Rubi asked. “And maybe we can keep going?”

Rubi thrust his hips again, grinding into him.

Toudai closed his eyes and pursed his lips, moaning softly. He then opened them. He glowered up at Rubi, but he was smiling so it was quite lackluster.

“You think you can go till round three?” Toudai sneered.

“Round _three_? I was thinking round five!” Rubi grinned right back.

The two shared a smile. Then Rubi leaned down and kissed Toudai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am currently writing three different versions of Toudai and Rubi and none of them are the same personality at all.
> 
> You got the RRHWB version, where Toudai is a respectable doctor who accepts he's gay (and is trans) and is confident about who he is and what he wants; Rubi is a young alpha who lacks confidence and has a multitude of family issues that he allows to hinder his life every day, however is a fierce romantic and wants to do what he can to do the right thing.
> 
> You've got the Heartstone version, where Toudai is a doctor who lacks confidence, lives his life in fear to the point that he lets it destroy his relationships, and is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders when he doesn't need to; Rubi is the next chieftan of the clan and allows that to sway his discussions because he worries more about what his clan thinks about him than what is right, entirely self-absorbed and rude.
> 
> Then you've got World's Apart (which hasn't been posted so I can't give too many spoilers) where they're both gay teenagers, Toudai is deeply in the closet living in a low income, multiple sibling household, and Rubi is out in the open with his sexuality and considered upperclass/the 1%.
> 
> The same characters, three different stories, and three different personalities. XD
> 
> There's really only one form of 'official' thing that gives their personality and that's the fan comic that was drawn when the designs were first released. So, I mean, I guess I can get away with these non-matching personalities. But the biggest issue I have is that I have an OC named Toudai, a female, who is a doctor. I feel as if that's where the 'doctor' stigma I have for Toudai-DRRR comes from and that's obviously a big problem because when I publish my own story, there may not be much distinction between Durarara Toudai and my OC Toudai. Also doesn't help I have an OC named Rubi as well—who is honestly the reason why I write every Durarara version of Rubi with an 'I' instead of 'Y'—and him and Rubi end up as a pair. :/ Really starting to think I'm an unoriginal fuck.


	2. Chapter 2

As the werewolf and the doctor fell away in to lovemaking, further up the mountain in another cabin. A blond man with brown roots was standing over a pot of soup.

“Izaya!” Shizuo called. “Dinner's ready!”

There was no response. Shizuo wasn't expecting one, really. It made him feel a little lonely, but it wasn't like anything he said or did could change that. He dished up two bowls and went into the living room.

Sitting on the couch was the forever young Viscount of the Orihara family. He was chewing on his nails. It was a very bad habit that Izaya had developed recently and no amount of Shizuo's coaxing could get him to stop. The blond put the bowls on the table.

“Izaya.” Shizuo said in a soft voice as he walked over. “Come on. Dinner time.”

Shizuo immediately knew something was wrong. He could smell blood over the scent of the soup. He quickly walked around the couch to see Izaya's lips were more red than usual.

“Izaya! What are you doing?!”

Shizuo reached his hand out and pulled his hand away from his mouth. In between Izaya's teeth was the entire nail of his index finger. Shizuo could see that his thumb and middle finger were already missing. On the coffee table in front of them was a small pile of nails—way more than just the three that were missing on one hand.

“Izaya...what are you...?”

Shizuo took both of Izaya's hands into his own. On his left hand, four of his nails were missing. The only one that was still there was his index finger.

“Izaya...why did you do this again?” Shizuo asked, trying to force eye contact. “Were you hungry? Did you want to drink blood?”

“I hate blood.” Izaya glowered. “I hate it, it hate it, I hate it!”

“I know. I know you do.” Shizuo leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “It's okay. It's okay, Izaya.”

Shizuo kissed Izaya again and again and again. The raven glowered.

“Stop it.” Izaya growled.

That hurt Shizuo, but he didn't let it show. “Come on. Let's get you cleaned up real quick. Then let's eat.”

Izaya openly glared. But he didn't fight against Shizuo as the blond tugged him up and guided him into the bathroom. Shizuo used vodka and bandage wraps to clean Izaya's wounds. The raven didn't make a noise of pain or protest. He didn't even flinch, even though Shizuo knew Izaya could feel pain. He then wrapped them as well as he could.

“There we go.” Shizuo smiled at him. “I'll talk to Toudaimoto tomorrow, okay? He'll be able to wrap these better.”

“I don't need that disgusting human touching me.”

Shizuo's brows furrowed. “But Izaya, Toudaimoto has been taking care of you for so long.”

“No, he hasn't. I've been taking care of us.”

 _ **'That's not true either.'**_ Shizuo kept himself from saying that aloud. He couldn't argue with Izaya since his mind was slipping.

Shizuo let out a heavy sigh. “Are you hungry, Izaya? You want to eat?”

“...What'd you make?”

“Some pork and vegetable soup.”

Izaya glowered. “Just simple pork would have been better.”

“...I'm sorry. We don't have much seasoning, so it's all I could make to have flavor.”

Izaya groaned in annoying. Then he let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. “A commoner like you wouldn't understand what good food is. So, I shouldn't give you too much grief over it.”

Again, Shizuo's feelings were hurt. He couldn't keep that from showing on his face, so he just glanced to the side. Izaya stared at him, then stood.

“Come on, food.” The raven said, “You're going to let dinner get cold.”

Shizuo glowered at the floor. Then he sighed and stood as well.

 _ **'Let it go.'**_ Shizuo told himself ** _'Let it go.'_**

The two went to the dinner table and sat down.

“Itadakimasu.” Izaya said, then picked up his spoon.

Shizuo let out a heavy sigh. “Itadakimasu.”

The two fell quiet as they began to eat. Dinner was eaten in complete silence, not a word shared. Shizuo didn't want to talk to Izaya and Izaya didn't really seem to care for conversation right now. Within twenty minutes, the two finished their meals.

“Do you want another bowl?” Shizuo asked.

“No, I am quite alright.” Izaya stated, pushing the bowl towards Shizuo. “It was very delicious, Shizu-chan. Pork is always the best in soup.”

Shizuo prickled to such a statement. _**'You just complained about...No, stop. Let it go.'**_

“Thank you.” The blond said.

Izaya nodded. “How about a nightcap?”

Shizuo smiled softly. “Alright. Go ahead and get ready for bed. I'll do dishes real quick and bring in the wine.”

“Yes, thank you.”

With that, Izaya went down the hall into the bedroom. Finally alone, Shizuo let out a heavy, drawn out sigh as he let his head droop. He then stood and took the two bowls. He put them into the sink and dumped the lukewarm water he had been boiling earlier into the basin. He then took the pot of soup and put the rest in a bigger bowl, where he put a wooden fabric over the top of it, clipped it to the edge of the bowl, and put it in the ice box.

Once done, he rolled up his sleeves, poured in some soap, and began washing the dishes. He was done within fifteen minutes. He dried off his hands on a towel, then reached into the cupboard above the since. He grabbed a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses—the only fancy kitchen-wear they owned.

He turned and went down the hall. He headed to the bedroom, where he knocked on the door.

“Izaya, are you decent?” Shizuo asked.

There was no response.

“Izaya?”

Shizuo opened the door slowly, trying not to spook the fragile-minded vampire. Izaya was in his nightgown, sitting on the bed. However, his eyes were staring at the floor, but not looking at anything.

“Izaya?”

No response. Not even a glance in his general direction. Shizuo walked over softly.

“Izaya?”

Shizuo stood before him, his feet being within Izaya's visual. However, Izaya still didn't move, still only stared at the floor. It was obvious now that he wasn't actually looking at anything, that his mind has simply gone somewhere else.

The blond let out a sigh as he sat down next to Izaya. That finally got Izaya's attention, who jolted and looked up at him.

“Oh, Shizu-chan. When do you get here?”

Shizuo just smiled. “I just got here. I've got the nightcap.”

“Oh, nightcap?” Izaya perked. “That would be nice. You always know what I like.”

Izaya rested his head on Shizuo's shoulder. Shizuo had to force the smile to stay on his face. He couldn't show Izaya how disheartened he was. Instead, he held a glass out to the raven.

“Here.” The blond said, “Hold that for me.”

Izaya nodded. The blond rested his glass on his closed legs and pulled the cork out of the wine bottle. He then grabbed his own glass. He poured Izaya half a glass of red wine, then himself. He put the bottle on the floor by his feet and put the cork back in.

The two clinked their glasses together then took a sip.

“Ah, that's such a lovely wine.” Izaya said. “What year is this?”

“I don't really know. You're the one who bought it.”

“Did I?” Izaya made a quizzical expression. “I don't recall.”

“It was a while ago. It's okay if you don't remember.”

“Hm.” Izaya took another sip. “How was your day today, Shizu-chan?”

Izaya already knew how his day was. After all, they spent it together. But this was a conversation they had every night before bed.

“My day was okay.” Shizuo said. “I just read a lot today, went out for a bit of a run, but that's about it.”

“Oh, really? Was it during the day?”

“Yeah. You were asleep when I went out.” Shizuo took a drink.

“Oh. How mean, you know I'd like to get out and soak in the sun.”

“I know. But it was very cold this morning. I know you don't like to be cold.”

“...Yeah, I guess that's true. Thank you for thinking about me.”

Izaya sipped more of his wine. Shizuo did too.

“How far did you run today?” Izaya asked.

“Not very. Just up to the third peak.”

“Heh, not very? That's at least an hour run just to get there. And you were in your human form?”

“Yeah. It's okay, though. I have a lot of energy to burn.”

“Oh~?” Izaya smiled a lascivious grin.

The raven then shimmied closer until they were pressed against each other.

“You know, there's always another way to burn off energy.” Izaya teased.

Shizuo stared at him for a moment. Then he shifted away. “Izaya, no.”

The raven glowered at him. Shizuo didn't return the look as he finished off his drink.

Izaya scoffed and finished off his drink again. He held the glass out to him. Shizuo took it.

“You never want to do it recently.” Izaya grumbled. “How come? It's been nearly a month!”

 _ **'It's been longer than a month...'**_ Shizuo thought with annoyance.

However, he couldn't say that. The fact that Izaya didn't know how long it had actually been, when it had nearly been six months now, was proof that he couldn't tell him that. It simply wasn't right for Shizuo to have sex with someone who wasn't in his right mind. He couldn't avoid it forever, since Izaya still wanted to have sex, but he could postpone it for as long as he could. On days when they did have sex, Shizuo made sure Izaya was in as much control as he could be. Shizuo couldn't recall the last time they did a different position besides topping from bottom. He loved Izaya, and he wanted to make him happy, but it was very hard to have sex with the maddening vampire and not feel guilty about it afterwards.

Shizuo let out a heavy sigh. He then stood and grabbed the bottle from the floor.

A hand caressed Shizuo's rump. The former priest jolted and stiffened.

“Come on, Shizu-chan.” Izaya said, smiling up at him. “Let's do it.”

Shizuo glowered as he stepped away, out of Izaya's reach. “Good night, Izaya.”

Izaya glared. Shizuo didn't stop to let him rebuttal. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. The blond went back down the hall to the kitchen. He rinsed the glasses out, cleaning them properly. Once done, Shizuo checked the windows and doors, making sure it was locked for the night. He then checked the fire. He added another log onto the flames, then half-closed the air vent in the chimney. That would keep the fire from dying while also keep it from burning too fast. He then turned down the oil lamps in the living room and kitchen.

Shizuo grabbed the lit candle from the dining table and made his way back down the hall. He walked past Izaya's room to his own room. The two didn't share a room anymore. When they first started living together, they certain did share one, even shared the same bed. But it became hard for Shizuo to refuse Izaya's advancements when they were like that. Even worse off, Izaya would wake from dreams and panic at the sight of Shizuo. He wouldn't know who he was and memories of Yodojiri haunted his frail mind.

It came to a point where it was better if they didn't share a bed. So, they attempted to share just a room, but once again, it became an issue. At the end of it all, Shizuo had to move into the storage room, the farthest room from the fireplace. Shizuo was a werewolf, so he wouldn't freeze or anything. He'd live and it was better for both of them.

Shizuo would admit he was certainly sour about the turns of event. He had hoped that Izaya would get better with Toudai's help. He had hoped the loving viscount that he had fallen in love with would return to him. But unfortunately, Izaya rejected Toudai entirely. There was no helping Izaya until he wanted to be helped. Shizuo wished that wasn't the case. He wished there was something they could do, but ten years passed and there was just no progress.

The blond let out another heavy sigh.

_**'Hopefully going back to Japan will help. Maybe Shiki-san or Awakusu--no-dono can do something. Emilia-san was able to help me, so maybe...'** _

Shizuo went into his room and put his candle on the nightstand. He took off his clothes and put on his night pants. He then got under his blankets.

_**'I really hope Emilia-san can help Izaya.'** _

He blew out the light and rested his head on the bed.

_**'I really, really hope so.'** _

* * *

Shizuo felt a pressure on his back. The blond inhaled deeply and lifted his head.

“Wha—”

“Ssssshhhh.” A soft voice was close to his ear. “It's okay.”

“I...Izaya....?”

Shizuo recognized the voice, even in his barely awake stage. The person exhaled heavily, his breath so sweet that it made Shizuo's head spin.

“I...Iza...”

“Go back to sleep, Shizu-chan.”

Something wasn't right about this. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, telling him he needed to more aware right now. However, he couldn't argue with the raven as his eyes felt so heavy and his mind went numb. He had to go back to sleep. He didn't want to, but that sweet breath was too much for his mind to handle. Within seconds, he was back asleep.

* * *

Shizuo felt a sharp pain within his body. It felt like his anus was burning and tearing at the same time. It was so painful that it woke him from his sleep. The blond called out and reached back.

“O-Ow...! Ow—”

“Sssshhhh! It's okay.”

Shizuo barely felt the pressure against his back. Then another pressure was placed on each shoulder. In the next second, Shizuo felt another breath against his nose.

“It's okay, Shizu-chan.”

Shizuo's mind felt light from the smell. “...Hu-Hurts...”

“No, it doesn't. It feels okay.” Another breath hit his face. “Just go back to sleep.”

The sweet breath made Shizuo's head heavy. With little coaxing, he rested his head on the pillow and his whole world went back.

* * *

Shizuo inhaled harshly, his eyes stretching wide as he sat up. He quickly looked around himself, his heart beating out of his chest. Morning light streamed in from the window. He could see that no one was in the room with him, but that didn't spot him from looking to every corner of the ceiling, terrified that he might see a man with black hair and a burn scar over half his face. There was truly no one there. Shizuo was alone.

The blond threw the blanket off and looked down at himself. His pants were still up and his rump didn't hurt. He had woken up naturally due to the freezing temperatures. He could see his breath, after all, so it was time for him to go check the fire.

_**'...That was...Just a dream, right?'** _

Shizuo stood, wrapping the blanket around himself. He left his bedroom and made his way down the hall quicker than he needed to. He stopped in front of Izaya's door. He hesitated, but he opened the door and looked inside. Izaya was sleeping soundly on the bed.

“...Izaya.” Shizuo stepped into the room.

The raven didn't stir.

“Izaya.” Shizuo walked over and gave him a gentle shake.

Izaya inhaled deeply as his eyes flared open. He then glared when he saw it was Shizuo.

“...Why is—”

“Izaya,” Shizuo cut him off, “Did you come into my room last night?”

“Wha...? Why would I do that?”

Shizuo opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He couldn't say anything. He wanted to, but he was scared that if he vocalized what he suspected, Izaya wouldn't deny it. He was scared to find out the truth.

“...You're right.” Shizuo said.

_**'It was just a nightmare.'** _

“Sorry to wake you.”

_**'A nightmare about Izumii that got twisted to sound like Izaya.'** _

“Go back to sleep, okay?”

Izaya glowered at him. Then he closed his eyes and rolled over. “Love you, Shizu-chan.”

“...I love you too...”

* * *

Rubi and Toudai groaned to the sound of someone knocking on their door. The two were huddled against each other, spooning and cuddling close. Rubi woke up to the knocking first, glowering over his shoulder at the window. He then groaned and kissed Toudai's temple.

“Who is it...?” Toudai asked.

The blond looked at the clock. “It's probably Shizuo. We slept in really late.”

“Well, we were up really late.” Toudai chuckled.

Rubi chuckled as well. He kissed Toudai's temple again then unwound himself from his lover and got up.

“Brr!” Toudai called, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around his body tightly. “It'sh sho cold!”

“I'll get the fire going.”

“Please~!”

Rubi chuckled. “I will, I will.”

The blond went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of pants. Another knock sounded. He quickly slipped the jeans on and walked out of the room. He made his way through the house. He stepped up to the front door and opened it.

Cold wind buffeted Rubi. He shivered as goosebumps lit up his skin. Standing before him was Shizuo.

“Hey, sorry we're late.” Rubi said. “We were up late.”

“No, it's...fine.” Shizuo said. “I just needed to talk to Toudai-san before we left.”

Rubi tilted his head. “Is it about Izaya?”

Rubi didn't miss the fact that Izaya wasn't with the priest. He held the door open. Shizuo stepped in and went about taking off his shoes as the white wolf closed the door.

“It's...kinda...” Shizuo started, stepping out of the genkan with his socked feet. “It's complicated.”

“Alright, well, I'll go get him.” Rubi stepped past him.

“Well, actually!” Shizuo grabbed the white wolf's arm.

Rubi looked at him wide-eyed. Shizuo didn't raise his voice unless he was pissed. However, the expression on his face did not look like rage. Rubi wasn't sure what kind of face that was, but it made Rubi realize something was very wrong.

“I would like to talk to Toudai-san alone.” Shizuo voiced. “If you don't mind.”

“...Yeah, that's fine. Let me just...I'll go wake him real quick. Just wait in the living room.”

Shizuo smiled softly. “Okay. Thank you.”

Rubi nodded. The two entered the living room, where Shizuo sat down at the dinner table. Rubi went down the hall back to the bedroom.

Toudai was sitting up in the bed, the blanket wrapped around him. He was moving around under the fabric. Rubi knew Toudai kept his clothes he planned to wear the next day under the pillow, so they'd be warm when he woke up in the morning, so he also knew that the doctor was just putting them on.

“Is the fire up?” Toudai asked.

“No, not yet.”

“Well, go do it!” Toudai pouted. “Did Shizuo-san say we should bring everything?”

“Ah, I didn't ask him. I forgot actually.”

“Oh.”

“But before that, Shizuo wants to talk to you in private.”

Toudai cocked a brow. “Okay. Well, I'm dressed. He may come in.”

Rubi nodded. He left the room to go back to Shizuo, gesturing for him to go ahead. The blond priest nodded, stood , and went down the hall. He walked in soon enough. Toudai sat on the bed with a blanket wrapped around him. Shizuo closed the door behind him.

“Good morning, Shizuo-san.” Toudai smiled. “What is it you need?”

Shizuo hesitated, his brows furrowing. “I need a, um—I need some medical advice.”

Toudai nodded and patted on the bed. Shizuo walked over and sat down.

“So, um...this is just idle curiosity, honestly.” Shizuo started, “But I was wondering, can you tell if someone's been sexually assaulted?”

Toudai's brows rose.

“I was thinking about the church last night.” the blond averted his gaze, looking at the ground, “Since, you know, we're going to be going back. And I recall what happened to yours and Rubi's mother when it came to the church. So, I was wondering if there was a way to prove it was a bad situation and we were just ignorant at the time.”

Toudai nodded. That was a sound reasoning so the doctor's confusion ebbed away.

“Well, it unfortunately depends.” The raven said, “Sexual assault cases are usually a 'he-said, she-said' fight unless there's significant evidence—like bruising or defensive wounds. And even then, people can argue that the victim should have been able to fight them off since their attacker may have been smaller or younger than them, he was drunk and couldn't even walk, and many other 'reasonable doubt' excuses.”

“So...what if the person was asleep?”

“If they were asleep, then there's no way the individual can consent—although that is a questionable argument as well. I mean...personally speaking, there have been times when Rubi has had sex with me while I'm sleeping and I certainly haven't complained nor dubbed it as rape.”

“Is that something you enjoy?”

“Apparently.” Toudai chuckled. “I didn't know I had such a fetish at the time, but it certainly was enjoyable to wake up too. And I have done the same to Rubi, as well.”

Shizuo cocked a brow. “Wait, I thought Rubi was the man of the relationship.”

“We're both the men of the relationship, Shizuo-san.”

“But you play the woman's role.”

“Just because I am the bottom of the relationship does not make me 'the woman's role'.”

“But women are supposed to be penetrated.”

“Yes, and women are also supposed to be the ones to take care of the children, cook, and sow. So, Sakuraya plays the woman's role whenever he fixes our clothes, you play the woman's role whenever you cook, and Roppi and Tsuki play the woman's role for looking after the children.”

Shizuo fell silent for a moment. “...Sorry.”

“It is quite alright. However, that way of thinking is not alright when the entire pack practices homosexuality.”

“You're right. I'm sorry.”

Toudai nodded. “But no, I have never penetrated Rubi. Simply...” The doctor hesitated as he blushed, glancing to the side. He needed to word this properly since he was speaking to a priest. To get pass the embarrassment, he thought of the conversation as education and factual and continued to say, “Well, when Rubi...stiffens in the night, I sometimes...penetrate myself on him. He never complains either, and if he does, I stop. The same can be said for when Rubi wakes me that way and I decided I don't want it.”

Shizuo nodded. “But...um, what if it's not enjoyable? What if you didn't want to when you woke up and he ignores you?”

“Then it's rape. Simple as that.”

“But how would you prove that? If say, they couldn't put a fight, so they didn't have defensive wounds. Or...they didn't wake up...”

“...Well, it would be extremely hard not to wake someone up when fornicating with them. Even if they're a heavy sleeper, the rocking will most-likely wake anyone, and definitely the penetration.”

“Just humor me.

“...Physically, there's only two ways that I know of.”

Shizuo looked up at him wide-eyed. “Wait, really?”

Toudai nodded. “Firstly, the orifice that was penetrate will be dilated to some degree. It can take up to half-a-day for that to come undone. Secondly, regardless if it's a vagina or an anus, when the orifice is penetrated, the internal muscles will be inflamed for the next twenty-four hours or so. This inflammation does not cause pain in women, typically. It commonly causes pain in anal penetration, however, it doesn't always. So long as they were properly prepped beforehand, their rump will not hurt for the day. But with that inflammation comes a temperature flux. So, in theory, a thermometer recording of the orifice could indicate penetration.”

“...So, say, if the victim wasn't sure they were...penetrated or not, you could technically tell?”

“In theory. This is still a new concept. It was something my father taught me, but I had never used it in practice. Father apparently used it a few times, but it was not like it was able to do anything other than prove it happened. Not many people—especially the church—are open to knew forms of medicine.”

“But you'd be able to do it?”

Toudai stared, then nodded. “Yes, I'd be able to.”

Shizuo's brows furrowed as he looked at the floor.

“...Is there something we need to talk about, Shizuo-san?”

Shizuo hesitated. “...No, I was just curious.”

 _ **'If you were just curious then why did you want to talk privately?'**_ Toudai asked. _**'...Well, this is a sensitive topic, so maybe he was embarrassed to bring it up. Although, that expression...'**_

Shizuo's held a face of confliction as he looked at the floor. He made eye contact with Toudai, where he smiled in a way that was obviously forced.

“Thank you.” Shizuo stood. “This information will hopefully help the church when we return.”

“... _If_ we return.”

“...Right, if. Sorry. I probably shouldn't be getting my hopes up.”

“Hope for the best, expect the worse.”

Shizuo nodded. “Do you know how much longer you two will be?”

“Not long. We packed most of our clothes yesterday afternoon.” Toudai stood as well, hugging the blanket around him still. “However, I'm not sure if we should bring everything. If, say, the letter arrives, will we come back to get the rest of our belongings then make the journey?”

“...I didn't think of that honestly. Give me time to think about it.”

Toudai nodded. “Understood.”

Shizuo nodded as well. “Alright. I left Izaya with Sakuraya and Shitsuo, so I need to get back.”

“Oh, yes. Rubi and I will be over in a bit. Let's regroup at their place.”

Shizuo nodded once again. With that said, the two stepped out of the bedroom. Rubi was sitting on the couch, waiting patiently. The temperature in the room had obviously risen, proof that Rubi had tended to the fire. Once Shizuo came out of the hall, the two werewolves made small talk as the priest continued on his way to the door. Shizuo explained what the plan was and was out of the house soon enough.

Once the door closed, Rubi looked back at Toudai.

“What was that about?” Rubi asked.

Toudai hesitated. “It was nothing. Just some sensitive medical advice.”

Rubi cocked a brow. “Did he catch something?”

Toudai decided to lie, for the sake of Shizuo's privacy while not leaving Rubi in suspense of the situation. “He wasn't sure. But it was best to be safe than sorry.”

Rubi chuckled. “What, did he have a pimple on his penis and thought it was an STD?”

Toudai held back a laugh. “Rubi, that's mean!”

The two shared a chuckle before Rubi walked over and kissed him. “Alright, let's eat then get down to the others.”

“Of course. Let's make it quick though. We don't want to keep them waiting for long.”

“Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PSA to anyone who reads Durarara doujin and decides to start scanning or translating: DO NOT WORK WITH YAOI-SEI!  
> As some of you know, I have been translating doujins. I truly liked Yaoi-Sei and was working with her for a while. I then got myself a typesetting, lovely girl, who let me know that Yaoi-Sei has been stealing other groups scans, calling them as her own, and is the reason multiple of these scanlation groups have closed their blogs. If you've been reading DRRR doujins from the beginning, names like Sugar Parade, Sweet Utopians and Violet Scans are well known. All of these groups have announced their dislike of Yaoi-Sei and her thieving ways and Violet Scans has even closed their group because of her, as well as Onigiri Ramens (who posts Naruto doujins). In Onigiri Ramens' case, they had an agreement with a Chinese scanlator group who was giving them free doujins to translate and post and in exchange, Onigiri Ramen wouldn't post them elsewhere. Yaoi-Sei was stealing their scans, and thus the Chinese group retracted their agreement and Onigiri Ramens closed their group. And to add insult to injury, Yaoi-Sei laughed at the groups when they asked her to remove her stolen posts and acted like a 12-year-old, immaturity and all.  
> After finding this out, I asked Yaoi-Sei if it was true and she turned on me completely. I was debating whether I wanted to continue to scan for her and just not give her the stories that were typeset by my new partner. The deciding fact to that decision would be how Yaoi-Sei responded, if she admitted she did this and since it was ten years ago/three years ago, she had finally developed some decency and stopped her ways. Nope. She completely turned on me, removed my credit page from doujin I sent her, then stole it/claimed it as her own. Luckily, I was able to report it as stolen since it had been on my tumblr for months and she waited until after we had fallen out to post them (I sent them to her right after I posted them to mine months ago) and she then treated me the same way she treated the other scanlation groups, laughing at me and being completely immature.  
> There is unfortunately nothing I can do with her other than report my work as stolen when she steals them. I have contacted Tumblr's Help Desk, explaining that Yaoi-Sei has been stealing posts for literally ten years, and her entire tumblr is built on stealing people's posts, however, they simply told me that I need to report her for stealing my stuff and only my stuff. The fact that she's a repeated offender with proof (I have screenshots and articles of everything) doesn't matter to them. And I unfortunately don't have a following on tumblr to get the word out on Yaoi-Sei's behavior. So, I'll post it here.  
> Do not work with Yaoi-Sei. She is a thief and a vile person both in personality and character. Do not follow her on Tumblr and do not support her work. It is ALL STOLEN!  
> If after reading all this and you still like Yaoi-Sei, then very kindly stop following me on every platform (Archive, FF, NewTumbl, Tumblr, and MRM). Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Izaya let out a disgusted scoff. “Why is there a human here? Don't tell me we're traveling with it!”

Rubi glowered at the viscount, although Toudai kept a calm expression.

“Izaya, it's Toudaimoto-san.” Shizuo said. “You remember him, don't you?”

“Toudaimoto...?”

Izaya looked at Toudai, then his eyes narrowed in analysis. Izaya came closer. Rubi stood between them. Izaya glowered at him.

“Stop it.” Izaya growled. “I think I know him but I'm not sure.”

“You can see from ther—”

“It is fine, Rubi.” Toudai said, stepping up to stand by his white-haired lover.

Izaya looked at Rubi, then stepped up to Toudai. The two made eye contact, Izaya scrutinizing Toudai's face. The viscount looked confused, as if he certainly knew Toudai but couldn't place where.

Izaya then pressed his nose to the doctor's neck and sniffed. Toudai was surprised, but he refused to flinch. Rubi opened his mouth to yelled, but Toudai silenced him with a raise of his hand.

“OH!” Izaya jolted back, a happy smile across his face. “I remember you! You're the son of that doctor who wanted vampire pheromones!”

Toudai tilted his head in confusion. “Vampire pheromones?”

“Oh, yes! Vampires secrete a lot of bodily fluids that act as different kinds of remedies! Our saliva is an aphrodisiac, our breath is like chloroform, and our pheromones are extremely strong to other vampires! That's why we can smell other vampires from a mile away! But concentrated vampire pheromones is super potent, so it's like a beacon to whoever uses it for up to ten miles!”

Toudai glanced at Rubi, then back at Izaya.

“But yes,” Izaya continued, “a few years ago, there was this human doctor who wanted vampire pheromones. He even used a summoning spell to bring a vampire to him! That vampire was me. Summoning spells are so annoying! It's like my control is completely removed and I just _have_ to go to wherever the spell tells me to go. So, I show up and he asks me to enact justice upon this father and son who apparently raped this doctor's son. I told him I don't kill people, so he asked for vampire pheromones, so he could enact justice himself.”

Toudai's eyes widened, as did Rubi's.

“I gave it to him, of course. Who am I to deny someone's revenge? He posted up the bottle of pheromones outside their back door and five vampires came to pay them a visit. I didn't bother to stick around, but I heard it was a terrible mess.”

Toudai felt his chest twist with agony that he hadn't felt since his father died. Emotions from over ten years ago came bubbling to the surface and made his heart wrench. _**'Father really did—'**_

“You have the wrong person!” Rubi yelled, stepping between them. “Toudai's father wouldn't do such a thing!”

Toudai looked at his love with furrowed brows. _**'Rubi...'**_

“Eh? But I remember that face!” Izaya called. “The doctor summoned me to his clinic house and I remember thinking the person lying in the bed was a beautiful woman! Then he said that was his son and I was left confused! The poor boy had bandages around his neck! And—”

“Izaya, enough!” Shizuo grabbed the viscount and pulled him away. “You're mistaken! Toudai-san was never raped!”

Toudai couldn't meet Shizuo's eye. After all, he had only ever told Rubi the story of his teenage years and he certainly didn't feel like bringing it up now. Although, he certainly appreciated Shizuo trying to put a stop to this conversation.

“Eh? But I swear that's him!” Izaya called.

“You're mistaken!” Shizuo yelled.

The blond priest pulled Izaya away from Toudai. He lifted the vampire into his arms, who complained loudly, and walked away.

Finally relieved from Izaya's presence, Rubi looked at Toudai, turning to him fully so he could rub his cheek.

“Are you okay?” The white wolf asked.

“...I...” Toudai looked down at the ground. “I am...not sure...”

Toudai didn't know how to process what he had just heard. The suspicions he had buried down all those years ago where just pulled to the surface without a care. The skeletons he had ignored were brought back to life by Izaya. Toudai didn't want to acknowledge this new information. He had decided years ago to let the past rest. He didn't want to know but now...

Rubi wrapped his arms around the raven and kissed the top of his head.

“It was...” Toudai started, “It was twenty years ago. It doesn't matter anymore...It doesn't matter...”

Rubi's hug only tightened.

“Guys!”

They all looked over at Shizuo. The blond had a guilty expression as he carried Izaya, who was openly pouting, on his back. Sakuraya and Shitsuo stood by the two as well, averting their gaze.

“Come on.” Shizuo said with a soft voice. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”

Rubi glowered at the blond. He wanted to yell at him to give them a moment. That Toudai needed a second. However, before he could, Toudai separated from the white wolf and nodded.

“Right, let us be on our way.” Toudai stated.

Rubi looked at his love. “Toudai—”

The raven reached back and grabbed Rubi's hand. The blond fell quiet. He didn't like it, but if Toudai didn't want to talk about it at the moment, then he wouldn't drag it out. This was Toudai's battle and Rubi just needed to support him.

Shizuo's guilty expression didn't subside. Toudai and Rubi walked up to follow the priest. Shitsuo and Sakuraya fell in right behind them.

And thus started their two week journey to the port town.

* * *

“Neh, are you the son of a doctor?” Izaya asked.

Toudai looked at him. “I was, yes.”

“Then it has to be you. You're the son of that hateful doctor who killed those rapists.”

“My father was not hateful.”

“He murdered a father and son.”

“It was a complicated situation.”

“Then it is you!” Izaya jolted forward. “You're the son of that murderous doctor!”

“...If my father is a murderer, then what does that say about the one who supplied him the murder weapon?”

Izaya's smile only widened. “Why should I be held accountable? A man can give out snake venom to whoever he very well pleases. It's the actions of the one who takes the poison that makes them a criminal.”

“Yet you give them the poison knowing they'll use it to hurt another.”

“So?”

Toudai glowered. He opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. To argue with Izaya about morality wasn't something the madman could probably handle. Or, even more-likely, Izaya's growing insanity was the reason his morality was crumbling. It wasn't worth it to argue with him.

However, luckily Toudai didn't need to as Shizuo got involved.

“Izaya, leave him alone, already.” The retired priest grabbed Izaya's biceps and pulled him to the side.

“Stop manhandling me!” Izaya yelled. “Shizu-chan!”

“Leave him alone! You know him because he's been part of the pack for ten years! Whatever that doctor did, it has nothing to do with Toudai-san!”

“I know I'm right! Besides, why would a human join a pack of werewolves?!”

“Would you just drop it?! You've been at it all day!”

“Because I know I'm right!”

“Just let it be! It's late and we're all tired! Go to sleep!”

“But I'm _hungry_!”

“We just ate!”

“No, we didn't!”

“Yes, we did! We just ate rabbit!”

“Rabbit? That's so uncouth! We should eat pork!”

“We'll eat pork tomorrow, alright?” Shizuo's voice softened. “Let's just go to bed, okay?”

“But we haven't had a nightcap yet. We can't go to sleep without a nightcap.”

Shizuo stared at him before letting out a heavy sigh. “Alright. Alright. Let's have a nightcap.”

Izaya smiled happily. Shizuo turned and pulled his bag over. He reached inside and pulled out a bottle of red wine. He then pulled out two wood polished cups. He handed one to Izaya.

While Shizuo went about doing that, Toudai turned and went about unfolding his own sleeping bag. Rubi came over as well.

“Are you okay?” Rubi whispered.

“I'll be fine.” Toudai stated, his voice just above a whisper. “It's just the ramblings of a madman.”

“...Do you want to talk?”

“Maybe later. Right now, let us rest.”

Rubi didn't look so certain about that. But he nodded. “Alright.”

* * *

Three days passed.

“Aaaagh, Shizu-chan, why are we walking so much?” Izaya moaned.

Shizuo couldn't respond because he was in his wolf form, along with Shitsuo, Sakuraya, and Rubi. Toudai rode upon Rubi's shoulders, his bag around the white wolf's neck so he didn't have to worry about it falling off his back. Izaya also rode on Shizuo's shoulder's, where he was leaning back to lay against Shizuo's spine.

“When are we going to go back home? “ Izaya groaned. “It's so tiring to be walking like this. And it's cold! You know I don't like being cold.”

“Izaya-san,” Toudai started, “We are heading to the port town, remember? It's a two week journey.”

“Two weeks?! I could fly that in half the time.”

“Please do not fly. You'll leave Shizuo-san behind.”

“Why should I care? He can keep up.”

“No, he can't. Else he would.”

Izaya scoffed. He then turned his head to look up at him. “Who are you?”

 _ **'Oh, not this again.'**_ Rubi's lip pulled back in a snarl as annoyance began to boil in his chest.

“I am Kurashi Toudaimoto.” Toudai responded.

“You look really familiar.” Izaya stated.

“Well, yes, I've been living with you and the pack for ten years.”

“Ten years? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Huh...” Izaya looked up at the night sky. “You're a very beautiful woman. Are you mated to someone?”

Toudai chuckled. “I am not a woman.”

Izaya's head whipped around to look at him again. “You're not?”

“No, I am a man.”

“...Wow, are you from Yodojiri's brothel or something?”

Toudai's eyes widened while Rubi stiffened. The two looked at Izaya.

“Yodojiri?” Toudai asked.

“Yeah, that worthless man of many faces. I knew he ran a brothel, and he would feed the kids and the women anemone, the sacred flower of Aphrodite. I don't know how he got the flowers of the goddess, but he obviously had some since all the women and children became undeniably beautiful. If you came from Yodojiri's brothel, then that would explain why you have such a feminine beauty even though you're a man.”

“...How do you know all of this?”

“I know many things. I spent years hunting Yodojiri down. It took me so, so, _so_ long to hunt him and every splice of his down. But I did it. Shizu-chan, you remember.”

Izaya leaned up and looked down at the wolf.

“That's why I sent Izumii away at that time. So, he could kill Yodojiri at the brothel. Remember? You remember?”

Shizuo obviously didn't respond.

Toudai stared at him wide-eyed. “You killed Yodojiri-san?”

“Paha! Yodojiri- _san_?!” Izaya looked at him with a wide smile. “What, so you did know him? That evil bastard who was ensnaring women and children to be his personal whores?! HA! And that was just one of his many identities! He had his hand in everything! Crime syndicates, slavery camps of both humans and monsters, brothels, drug trains, you name it! He made a pretty good profit, but he made a mistake! He got me and my court involved. So, I had to end him and I did. Ah, but this was years ago. This was when Shizu-chan was still hunting down Izumii.”

Izaya let out a heavy sigh as he lied back on Shizuo's spine, letting his head loll while his eyes closed.

“Shizu-chan was so cute back then. So adorable. I wished he hadn't aged. I wish I could have gotten a hold of a golden apple to keep Shizu-chan's young beauty in tact. I miss that adorable nineteen-year-old blond.”

Izaya's hand rubbed against Shizuo's furry side.

“So beautiful...”

Izaya finally fell silent as his expression softened. It seemed he had talked himself into exhaustion and was now asleep.

Although, the same couldn't be said for Toudai, who was in prominent turmoil. His hand on Rubi's scruff was gripping the furry flesh so tight as he stared down at the back of his head.

_**'Yodojiri-san was someone like that? A man with multiple identities? I don't understand this. Everything Izaya's said says the ordinary life I lived was a lie!'** _

Toudai bent forward and rested his head on Rubi's scruff.

_**'The brothel was anything but ordinary, but it wasn't supernatural or monstrous. It wasn't like that. He has to be lying. I can't keep taking everything he says to heart. He's not in his right mind.'** _

The doctor's expression softened.

_**'But it's because he's not in his right mind that he may not be able to think coherently enough to lie. His madness is proof that he may be telling the truth. And Yodojiri-san was always feeding us flower soup...'** _

Toudai rubbed his face into the soft fur as he let out a heavy sigh.

_**'How does he know so much about me when he can't even remember my name? And why did he wait till now to tell me this? Why didn't he bring this up when we met? I just...don't understand any of this.'** _

* * *

Four more days passed. They were a week into their journey now and had finally reached the halfway point.

“God, I'm so tired of smelling your disgusting scent?!” Izaya called.

Toudai merely rolled his eyes as he ate his food. He knew the vampire was talking about him. After a week, he had gotten use Izaya's mad calls that made little sense.

“You vile human, you've been following us for days now! What do you even want?!”

Toudai didn't answer. Rubi glowered at the vampire lord.

“Izaya, stop it!” Shizuo yelled.

“Do you not realize what we are?!” Izaya called. “I'm a vampire and everyone here is a werewolf! You're in a den of monsters and you're just casually eating!”

“Izaya, he's a member of the pack!” Rubi yelled. “Would you fucking stop?!”

“A human who joined the pack?! What, is it a slave?!”

“Of course fucking not!”

Toudai finished off his food.

“So, it's here by it's own volition?!” Izaya questioned. “What does it want?!”

“Stop calling him 'it'! His name's Toudai!”

“Izaya, enough!” Shizuo yelled.

“Are you trying to tempt us?! Do want you want us to eat you?! Your disgusting blood is so strong and smells so sweet! And you're flaunting it around for all the smell!”

Toudai put his empty plate down, swallowing the last of his food.

“This is just further proof of what I've said all along! Humanity is so twisted!”

“They're not that twisted!” Rubi yelled. “And even if they were, Toudai's different!”

“That is such a lie or your disillusioned! He's just like the rest of his kind. Just hateful and cruel!”

“Izaya!” Shizuo grabbed the raven's arm.

Toudai stood.

“That's right, leave!” Izaya yelled. “You don't belong here!”

“Izaya, enough!” Shizuo pulled the raven down, forcing him to lay down.

“Get off me! What are you doing, Shizu-chan?!”

“You need to stop it! Toudai has been a member of the pack for years! He's your friend!”

“As if I would be friends with a human! Not after they killed my brother!”

“You can't damn an entire species because of one event! You used to love humanity!”

“Not anymore! They're all vile!”

Toudai was already heading towards the woods, not saying a word. Rubi quickly gathered their bags and leaped to his feet. He followed after the doctor and soon enough, he was walking side-by-side with him.

Neither said anything until Shizuo and Izaya's yelling was a vague noise in the distance. Once they were far enough away, Rubi spoke up.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am fine.” Toudai stated. “It is best not to provoke him anymore. He isn't in his right mind and making him hysterical will cause more problems.”

“You didn't provoke anything! It's not your fault.”

“Whether it's my fault or not, it doesn't change that I'm upsetting him.”

Rubi looked at him with a glower, although Toudai knew it wasn't pointed at him. The raven smiled softly.

“I am going to make a fire separate from the others and rest there for the night.” Toudai stated. “Are you willing to join me?”

“As if I would leave you in the forest alone.” Rubi intertwined his fingers with Toudai's.

Toudai nodded. He then pressed himself to Rubi's side, resting his head on his shoulder as they walked.

“I love you, Rubi.”

“I love you too, Toudai.”

* * *

Five more days passed. They were only two days off from reaching the port town.

“Hello, my names Orihara Izaya.” The raven said, smiling up at Toudai. “It's nice to meet you.”

“It's nice to meet you too.” the doctor said. “I'm Kurashi Toudaimoto.”

The group sat around the campfire, the night sky clear and filled with stars.

“Kurashi as in 'darkness'? And Toudaimoto as in 'under the lighthouse'?”

“That's right.”

“So you're name is 'the darkness under the lighthouse'? That's such a lovely name!”

“Thank you. What about your name? Orihara Izaya, it sounds quite unique.”

“Oh, Izaya is derived from the biblical name 'Isaiah' and the Japanese proverb 'he who watches over the crowd' and Orihara is written with 'fold' and 'field'.”

“Really? That's so unique. Although, wouldn't it be pronounced 'Nozaya' or 'Rinya*'?”

“Yes, I get that a lot. My dad told me that if the reading didn't go through, he'd just pronounce it as Rinya, but obviously that didn't happen.”

“Oh, I see.”

Izaya nodded. “Why are you here? All the way out here?”

“Well, I'm with my mate.” Toudai gestured to Rubi.

“Oh?” Izaya looked at the white-haired man. “Who are you?”

“...Rubi. Yubiwa Rubi.”

“Yubiwa as in 'finger ring' and ruby as in the gem?”

“That's right.”

“Ahaha! So your name is literally 'ruby ring'!”

“Yeah. My mom thought it was clever.”

“What was your mother's name?”

“Shizuka**. Spelt with 'quiet' and 'relationship'.”

“Oh, well, that's not very clever.” Izaya pouted.

“Well, my mom didn't have a last name, as far as I knew. My mom and dad got married after I was born—well, my mom and stepdad.”

“Oh? Who was your real father then?”

“Hachimenryu.”

“Oh, you're a werewolf then!”

“I am.”

“Oh, and you got dished the best but worse bloodline! The Hachimen's are all Canis Major with star-point Sirius. But they're all worthless pieces of shit with little remorse for anything. The Hachimen pack used to be the most esteem pack, considered guardians and policemen of the other wolf packs. They'd keep the packs in line and separated from human society and were nomadic. Because they were all Canis Major with Sirius star-point, they would practice crossbreeding with humans. I can't name the last time a Hachimen had a werewolf mate. But because of their strong bloodline, they were never going to get that fifty-fifty chance of the wolf skipping the child's generation.

“But then, Hachimenroku started terrorizing that town in the mountains. His daughter, Hachimenrika, tried to take on a mate in that town and when she came clean about what she was, they persecuted her, tortured her, and tried to get her to reveal the identity of the rest of the pack. It was such a sad situation. She fell in love with that human and the human loved her in return—even impregnated her—but once the truth came out, he turned on her so fast and there was no mercy for her even though she was with child.”

Izaya let out a heavy sigh.

“Ever since then, the Hachimen pack gave up their roles and settled in the mountains above that village, chasing out any monsters or other packs that would liberate the humans. So, in a way, they became the protectors of that town—but only so they could torture them themselves. The Heiwajima pack took up the role they abandoned, keeping human and monster society separate and keeping the packs in line. Unfortunately, they don't command nearly the same amount of authority since they're Lupus and they have a common birth defect where it skips the next generation regardless of human breeding or not, so out of a pair of brother's, only one will be a werewolf. But they were the only one's who were willing to step up to the plate. And of course, there are plenty of packs who don't listen to them, like the YukiFuyu pack.

“Anyway, but yes,” Izaya continued, “since then the Hachimen pack has been completely isolated. They fell away into inbreeding and demented thought processes. Hachimenroku encouraged them to do terrible things to the humans down below, so sexual assaults, kidnapping, murders, sometimes all three at once, would happen to those poor humans. They made sure to moderate these heinous acts, so that the people wouldn't have a reason to never leave the church, which was their only safe place from the werewolf attacks. But women going missing and men dying from night invasions wasn't unnatural. And in order to breed, they started mating with each other, another thing Roku encouraged to keep the Canis Major bloodline pure—although that didn't matter since it was guaranteed they'd be Canis Major's because they were Hachimen.

“So, the Hachimen pack used to be a very pristine and well-respected pack.” Izaya looked at Rubi. “And they have a wondrous bloodline, but now they're just a pack of demented and vile werewolves. It's such a disappointment. And you unfortunately have to live with that shame name.”

Rubi hesitated. “...I didn't know any of that.”

“I wouldn't be surprised. If anyone knew that the Hachimen pack had such a prominent role in the werewolf society, they probably would have changed their ways after Roku died.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Because I was there, of course! I may look this young and devilishly handsome, but I'm actually nearly 200 years old. I was born a half-vampire—which means both my parents were vampires but I hadn't been 'reborn' yet, so to speak. And half-vampire's age at half the rate of humans, so it took me 34 years to finally turn 17. So, I met Hachimenroku almost 100 years ago. I was there to see the fall of the Hachimen pack. It was truly terrible.”

“Did you ever try to reason with them?” Toudai asked.

“Once. I convinced Hachimenroku to sit down with me for a nightcap. I tried to convince him that grief had blinded him and he needed to move on. But he did not take that sitting down. That's how I got this scar here.”

Izaya pulled the collar of his shirt down to expose a long white line in the crook of his neck and shoulder.

“He smashed the wine glass and sliced me with it, and because I refuse to drink blood, it healed at a human rate and scarred over. It was quite painful. He told me to never step foot in the Hachimen territory again or he'll kill me. Needless to say, I took his advice and didn't return until the recent generation that got absorbed with the Heiwajima pack—two young boys—were all I had to worry about and they probably didn't know who I was anymore.”

“...Hm, I wonder...” Toudai voiced.

“What?”

“Are you a good person or a bad person?”

Izaya tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have done terrible things in your past where your actions led to people dying or getting hurt. Yet you try to help people. Are you a saint or a sinner?”

Izaya's eyes narrowed. “How do you know anything about me? We just met.”

Toudai was quiet for a moment. “Yes, you're right, my mistake.”

Izaya chuckled, glancing to the side. “Well, to answer your strangely specific question, I'm a saint to some and a sinner to other. Most people hate me, but some people consider me their messiah. It all just depends on who you ask.”

Toudai nodded. “Why are you a sinner if you can be a saint?”

“Because being a saint is too boring. I want to watch humanity for eternity, to watch the many expressions they hold and the choices they'll make. See, humans are the most interesting creatures to ever roam the world. More complex than any animal and filled with so much good yet they choose to do bad. God gave them many things, but the most important thing He ever gave was the choice of free will. They can choose to be good but they can choose to be bad, and they can choose to rise above their own limitations and be something above man—the gods and the arkdemons are proof of that! Humanity is just so interesting! I could live for eternity and be content just watching them forever.”

“What does that have to do with being a sinner?”

“Because in order to see the most interesting parts of humanity, you have to do bad things to them. Man always wears two faces, one is a mask they want everyone to see, and one is their true face that they only show in stressful situations. I want to see that true face, so I have to force them into stressful situations.” Izaya smiled. “Nothing personal, of course.”

Toudai didn't like that. But he wouldn't argue with the crazy more, nor try to reason with him. It was a losing battle if he tried and he knew that.

“Hey, you're human, right?” Izaya asked, scooting closer to Toudai. “You smell like a human.”

“Yes, I am.”

“And you're mated to a werewolf?”

Toudai nodded.

Izaya smiled. “How open-minded. How aspiring. Since you're mated to a Hachimen then you're the stepping stone that might help the Hachimen return their honor. If you two have a child, I'm sure they'll be the bridge!”

Toudai smiled softly. “Unfortunately, I can't.”

Izaya's eyes widened as his expression saddened. “Eh? Why not?”

“Well—”

“Are you infertile? Or are you scared of a complication with the birth?”

“No, it's—”

“You don't have to worry!” Izaya leaned forward, suddenly, surprising Toudai and making the doctor lean back. “There are certainly breed of monsters that cause terrible defects to the human mother, but werewolves aren't one of them! You won't birth a litter of seven or something like that! Nor will your stomach burst open or the baby eat it's way through or anything like that! Werewolves have mostly humans forms and a child won't have a transformation until their five! So, it's not like you'll be pushing out a wolf pup!”

“Yes, I'm fully aware.” Toudai raised his hand for calm. “But that is not the issue.”

“What's the issue then?”

“I am not a woman.”

Izaya jolted, his eyes stretching wide. “You're a man?!”

“Yes.” Toudai chuckled.

“No way! You're far too beautiful to be a man!”

“I'm sorry, but it is the truth.”

“Did you eat something special as a child? Like banshee blood or nymph flesh? Or even Aphrodite's anemone?”

“...I don't necessarily know. I was told I might have eating that anemone. My old...um, well, someone I knew used to feed me flower soup, but he never told us what the flowers were.”

“Oh, it _has_ to be Aphrodite's anemone! They're the flowers within her personal garden and they apparently were loved by Aphrodite so much that they started to change for her. So they say that if you eat some of those anemone, they'll make you as beautiful as Helen of Troy.”

“Oh, how interesting.”

“It truly is! It certainly wouldn't be easy to get those flowers either! So, it's truly incredible!”

Toudai smiled softly. He didn't know how to respond to that.

“...Izaya.” Shizuo voiced, “Why don't you come lay down? It's getting late.”

“Oh, Shizu-chan, when did you get here?” Izaya looked at him.

“I've been here.”

“Well, why didn't you speak up? We were talking about the Heiwajima pack. Oh, Kurashi-kun, this is Heiwajima Shizuo, the current alpha of the Heiwajima pack! His name is spell with 'quiet' and 'man', which is fitting since he's a little shy and doesn't yell unless he's angry.”

Toudai smiled as he nodded.

“Come on, Izaya.” Shizuo tugged on Izaya's sleeve. “Let's go to bed.”

“What about a nightcap?” Izaya looked up at him then looked over at Toudai. “Do you drink? Would you like to join us for a nightcap?”

Toudai looked at Izaya, then looked up at Shizuo. The blond nodded. Toudai nodded back and smiled at Izaya. “I wouldn't mind.”

Izaya beamed. He then tugged on Toudai's hand. “Come, come. I hope you like white wine. Hachimen-kun, you come too. Oh, Shizu-chan, where's Sakuraya and Shitsuo? Let them join in the nightcap as well.”

“Sakuraya and Shitsuo already went to bed. But I can ask them.”

“Perfect.” He looked back over at Toudai. “Come, come.”

Izaya tugged Toudai along. The two stood and went to the other side of the campfire while Shizuo went over to the sleeping bundle. Shitsuo was already sitting up and Sakuraya was rubbing his eyes.

Toudai wasn't going to complain about the strange turn of events. It was the first time in the last week-and-a-half journey that Izaya has been pleasant to him and he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, as he sat down by Izaya and Shizuo's bag with Rubi by his side, he just decided to enjoy the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *So, the thing about Izaya's name is it's very complicated. I've probably talked about this in previous stories, but Izaya's name is actually very unique and strange even for Japanese.
> 
> The characters 臨也 in romaji is 'nozomu ya', so it can be translated as Nozaya. If you put it into a translator—such as google translate—sometimes, it'll translate it as 'Izaya' and other times it'll translate it as 'Nozaya'. Where as just 臨 is usually read as 'rin', so Ryugho Narita stated if his name couldn't be read as 'Izaya', he'd be known as 'Rinya'.
> 
> Think of it like the name Saoirse. It's pronounced 'sur-sha', but obviously the spelling doesn't match. Izaya's name is similar to that.
> 
> **Shizuka—静 (quiet) 仲 (relationship)/Shizuko—静(quiet) 恋 (love)


	4. Chapter 4

Two more days passed and they were finally at the port town. After two weeks of constant verbal abuse and badgering, Toudai would finally have a small reprieve from the mad viscount. The doctor was truly grateful, although he didn't show it.

They arrived right as night took over the landscape, the town illuminated with lanterns. The streets were bustling with people. Women were walking home with their groceries for dinner, children who had gotten out of school early were running around with their friends and pets. Despite it being night, no one was in a hurry to go home. They could see that, despite being atop of the hill overlooking the town.

They could also see there was a ship in the harbor, the sails folded to the mass.

“Is that our ship?” Toudai asked.

“I think so.” Shizuo looked at them then back at the boat.

“I don't see Roppi or the kids.” Rubi said.

“We're a bit too far away to see, Rubi.” Toudai intertwined his hand with the white wolf's. “Did we specify a place to meet up if they returned?”

“No, I don't think we did.” Shizuo stated. “Let's head down to the docks. They'll probably be there.”

“Alright,” Shitsuo voiced, gaining their attention. “There's no reason for all of us to go. Sakuraya and I wanted to visit the shrine for a bit, if that is alright.”

Shizuo hesitated. It looked like he wished to say something, but he refrained. Instead, he nodded. “That's fine, I guess.”

Rubi and Toudai shared a look. However, they also said nothing. Instead, Rubi gave Toudai a soft smile.

“Well, if that's the case, do you want to visit the school before we leave?” Rubi asked, looking at Toudai. “It's been a while since you visited and if things go well, this may be the last time.”

“...I wouldn't mind that. It'd be nice to see if the pandemic passed.”

Last time they had came, a hearty number of the students at the school had a common cold and Toudai had given them all medicine. Over the last ten years, Toudai had gotten close with the school headmaster, since he was willing to take care of the sick without payment. Because of that, Toudai was always welcome.

The children usually remained in the school well into the evening because most of their parents would be working in the fields, fishing, or hunting until late into the afternoon and wouldn't be back to pick up their kids until night already fell. So, they would certainly still be at the school right now.

Shizuo nodded as well. “Alright. Once you're all done, meet back up at the harbor. Be quick about it, okay?”

They all nodded. And like that, they went their separate ways.

* * *

“Laoshi*!” A group of kids called in unison as they rushed to the front door.

Toudai smiled down at the children as he quickly took off his shoes. A few kids didn't wait and wrapped their arms around the raven. Toudai chuckled as he wrapped his arms around them with one hand and tried to take off his shoes with the other. Rubi snickered before he decided to help him out. The blond, with his hair wrapped in a white hijabe, knelt down and untied his snow boots for the swarmed doctor.

Soon enough, Toudai's shoes came off and he stepped out of the genkan. Rubi spent time taking off his own shoes. Once done, he also walked inside.

“Xiansheng**! Rubi xiansheng!” Two of the kids walked up to Rubi and grabbed his hands. “Tai qi! Tai qi!”

Rubi didn't know Mandarin very well—he would argue he didn't know anything. But they had come here enough time that he learned certain words. The kids were kind enough not to speak full sentences to Rubi and just tried to say one word at a time. After the few times they'd come here, he knew they were saying 'up'.

And with that figured out, Rubi put his forearms out from his sides. The kids wrapped around his limbs and the blond lifted them off the floor without an ounce of strain. Rubi walked into the school, Toudai and his entourage of children leading the way.

Down to the end of the grand hall was a teacher sitting at a desk. She was smiling up at them as they walked down. The kids were chattering happily to Toudai, who was trying to keep up with all the conversations to the best of his ability. Rubi had no clue what they were saying at all. Once they got close enough to the teacher, she started talking to Toudai as well and the kids fell silent.

* * *

Sakuraya took off his tabi's, stepping into the temple. He waited for Shitsuo to get his laced boots off. The blond followed soon enough. The two walked side-by-side into the temple. The shrine was quiet. Any occupants inside were silent as they sat on their knees atop zatubon's. Sakuraya and Shitsuo went to the closest vacant cushion's, which was towards the front of the alter. The two sat down and bent their heads low, their hands pressed together in prayer.

* * *

“This place stinks, Shizu-chan!” Izaya growled. “Why are we even here? In this revolting town filled with murderers!”

“Izaya, please stop. Someone may understand what you're saying.”

“Like I care. Humans are just a bunch of murderers! They killed my brother and they'll kill my son! Mikado is probably dead! All these beasts—”

“Izaya, shoosh!” Shizuo put his hand over his mouth.

Izaya openly glared at him.

“Please, Izaya?” Shizuo took his hand away. “We'll leave, okay? If things went well, we'll be going back to Japan today. Mikado is certainly still alive and he's waiting for us back home.”

“We're going back to Japan?”

“Yes.” Shizuo smiled softly. “I told you this before. We're going home.”

“Why?”

“Because the Holy Order is gone. We don't have a reason to stay here anymore.”

“The Holy Order?”

“...Yes. The...the order that made us have to come to Taiwan.”

“I thought we left because someone killed Hibiya?”

“Well, yes, but that someone was the Holy Order.”

“And they're gone now?”

“Yes, that's right.”

“Why?”

“I don't know, Izaya. We'll find out when we get back to Japan.”

Izaya's eyes narrowed dangerously. “The order that killed Hibiya isn't even going to pay for their crimes. They deserve to burn in the fiery pits of hell and they got off scot-free.”

“We don't know that, Izaya. They could have all been arrested for their crimes.”

“As if.” Izaya growled, “Human's rarely convict other humans, even when they have significant evidence of their crime. They'll never be held accountable for killing Hibiya.”

“Izaya, we don't know that.” Shizuo grabbed Izaya's wrists. “Please, just stay close to me and keep quiet until we get on the ship. Everything will be okay.”

Izaya glared, but didn't say anything. He kept quiet as hatred filled his eyes. Shizuo tried to keep his smile in place. He then kissed Izaya's forehead.

“Please? It'll be okay.” The blond said.

Izaya was still silent. Shizuo then turned and, holding the viscounts hand, he went on his way to the harbor. The two walked the dirty snow-covered streets until they reached the water's edge. They walked down the shoreline until they came to the docks.

Shizuo turned and grabbed Izaya's biceps. He moved the raven to the side until he was standing next to a dock post.

“Just wait here.” Shizuo said, “I'll be back in a minute, just wait here, okay?”

Izaya didn't respond.

“Izaya,” Shizuo forced eye contact. “Wait here for me, okay?”

“...Okay.”

Shizuo smiled. “Thank you.”

The blond let him go and turned around. He walked up the dock to the ship. A few crewmates were loading crates up the ramp. One of them noticed Shizuo and paused. His eyes fell on the chest plate he wore, which obviously bore the sigils of the church, and the giant golden cross of a weapon on his back. His eyes automatically narrowed. Shizuo wasn't going to fault him. The blond walked up to him.

“Hello, I'm Heiwajima Shizuo.” The blond said, “Is Eijirou available?”

“...Yeah, should be.” The sailor said. “Hold up.”

The man walked up the ramp past the crates and back onto the ship. Shizuo waited patiently.

While Shizuo waited down the dock, Izaya looked at the people walking along the streets. All the _humans_ walking along the streets. Laughing, smiling, having conversations with each other as if nothing was wrong. As if everything was okay.

But everything was _not_ okay! They killed Hibiya! They killed Izaya's little brother. After everything Izaya had given up to protect his dear brother, those damn humans made it all for not. His title, his humanity, his chastity. All of it, Izaya threw away, so Hibiya would never know suffering. And those terrible humans killed Hibiya while Izaya's back was turned. One moment of negligence and it caused his brother his life.

“ _Did you hear about the Orihara viscount?”_

Izaya perked to the words. He couldn't see who said them, but it had to have come from the crowd on the street.

“ _Yeah, the one that was apparently a vampire?”_

“ _Yes! And was stupid enough to get caught!”_

Izaya prickled to the statement, his eyes widening with rage.

“ _Hahaha, what an idiot! He was found out so easily!”_

“ _His brother apparently convinced the church not to kill him, and the Holy Order did it anyway!”_

“ _Ha! He had a brother? Where was he when Hibiya needed him?”_

“ _He was making love to his werewolf!”_

“ _HAHAHA! So Izaya would rather have sex than save his little brother?!”_

“ _What a whore!”_

“ _No wonder Yodojiri decided he'd make a good sex slave!”_

“ _His only good asset is his sex appeal!”_

_**'No, they're wrong! They're wrong, wrong, wrong! I didn't know! I didn't know Hibiya was in danger! I didn't know he was being burned at the stake! I didn't know...! I didn't—'** _

“ _You knew.”_ A voice in the crowd called.

Izaya's eyes widened to see all of the humans were looking at him. All of them were smiling from ear-to-ear, staring at the vampire with triumphant eyes.

“ _But you didn't care.”_

His heart was threatening to beat out of his chest as his hands went cold. Self-loathing and sorrow began to fill his chest. But with it came rage, so strong, so profound, Izaya's vision started to turn red. All the while, the humans looked at him with those smug grins.

“ _Hibiya only caused you suffering throughout your life. You were happy he died, weren't you?”_

Izaya's eyes lit with rage.

About five minutes passed before the captain to the ship came down the ramp. Shizuo smiled as he walked up to him.

“Good evening.” Shizuo said.

“Evening.” Eijirou greeted. “You charting a voyage home too, now that the Holy Order's gone?”

“Well, that all depends. Have our other packmates returned?”

He cocked a brow. “You mean the black-haired man and the blond human, with two kids?”

“Yes, them. They went on a voyage about a month ago. Since we don't know what the territories are like since we've been gone for ten years, those two with the kids went on ahead to see if they can return. If they couldn't, they were to return here, to Taiwan.”

Eijirou looked worried at that. “Well, they haven't returned. We haven't seen them since they left our ship.”

Shizuo's eyes widened. “You haven't seen them at all? Did you, at least, receive a letter from a carrier pigeon?”

“No.”

“It-It may have been from the church. Is it possible you got one and immediately threw it away? Or—”

“We didn't receive any form of letter from anyone.”

Shizuo's stomach wrenched with newfound fear. _**'Something went wrong.'**_

The blond felt his mind starting to swim while everything around him paused. Roppi and Tsuki were in danger. The children were in danger. What if they were already dead and he was a month too late to help them? Shizuo should have been the one to go. He should have taken Izaya and gone back to Japan. He—

Shizuo closed his eyes and shook his head. Right now wasn't the time for him to panic. He had to think rationally and follow the plan.

“O-okay...” Shizuo stuttered before clearing his throat, forcing his concerns down. “Okay, then we need a ferry to Japan. Immediately. When do you set sail?”

Eijirou nodded, understanding in his expression. “We set tomorrow evening. How many 'tickets'?”

“Four. We need—”

A flare of light exploded on from the shore. Both their eyes widened as they looked over. Shizuo's eyes then filled with horror. The closest house was engulfed in flames, people screaming and running away in fright. He could hear screams from within the house as well. A man that Shizuo recognized stood in front of the house, hand outstretched where flames shot out from his palm.

Shizuo's chest twisted to the sight.

“I-Iza—”

“MEN!” Eijirou called. “FIRE! WE'VE GOT A FIRE! GET BUCKETS QUICK!”

The sailors on the ship paused before bustling into action.

Shizuo looked to the ship before looking back at the fire—more importantly, the person who obviously caused it. The blond rushed down the dock at full sprint.

“Izaya!” Shizuo yelled. “What have you done?! What are you thinking?!”

The vampire didn't even look at him. Shizuo wasn't even sure if he heard him over the roaring of the flames. However, it soon didn't matter as the black bat-like wings of a vampire stretched out from under Izaya's cloak. With one mighty flap, he was airborne, flying away over the town.

“IZAYA!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Laoshi—Mandarin equivalent to 'sensei'.
> 
> **Xiansheng—Mandarin equivalent to 'san'. It was originally reserved for teachers/professors, but in recent years, its become a broad term for all men and is used more like 'Mr.'
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't know Mandarin at all. I know Japanese okay enough to read it with confidence, but hearing it is still very hard. But no, I don't know Mandarin, so if shit's wrong, my bad.


	5. Chapter 5

“ _Laoshi, are you really leaving?!”_ One of the children asked, pulling on Toudai's hand.

“ _You can't leave! You said you'd teach up Japanese!”_

“ _I wanna learn how to heal people! I wanna be a doctor like you!”_

“ _I want to be a doctor too!”_

Toudai smiled softly. _“I'm sorry, little ones. But it's time for us to go home. Although we may be back, since we're not sure if we'll be returning permanently._

“ _Eh, you don’t know? Then you shouldn’t leave at all!”_

“ _Stay, Laoshi!”_

“ _We want you to stay!”_

“ _Please?”_

Toudai’s smile became sad. He opened his mouth to tell them he was sorry, but he couldn’t oblige.

However, he didn’t get the chance as the roof of the building suddenly exploded with a mass of fire. The children screamed and fell to the floor. The teacher also screamed, but she quickly ducked low and rushed to the kids, shielding as many as she could with her body. Toudai called out in surprise and dropped as well, shielding the two closest children while Rubi shielded Toudai.

“What’s happening?!” Toudai called.

“I don’t know, Toudai!”

* * *

Sakuraya exhaled his stress away. He then looked over at Shitsuo. The two shared a smile.

“Should we go back?” Sakuraya whispered.

“Yes, let's—”

All too quickly, the front doors to the shrine burst open in a plume of flames. Screams filled the shrine as Shitsuo wrapped himself around Sakuraya.

* * *

“IZAYA!” Shizuo yelled.

The priest ran through the streets, desperate to find the source of all the flames. Everywhere he looked, every house was on fire. People were running towards the water or were running towards the snow-covered hills. Many of them were screaming, calling out to loved ones in terror, children crying and shrieking. No one bothered to look at Shizuo since they were far too busy running to safety, but Shizuo looked at every face that ran pass. Their ash-covered, injured, crying faces. The faces that only existed right now because Shizuo couldn't help Izaya. Because he took his eyes off of Izaya for five minutes. Guilt filled the priests chest.

_**'Izaya...What have I done? I shouldn't have brought Izaya to the town. I should have...Izaya...!'** _

Shizuo continued running, forcing his gaze away from the scared citizen's to look up at the sky. He looked over at where the fire was coming from. He could barely see the billowing flame over the roof of a house. He ran towards that place. However, another house was lit ablaze on the right. Shizuo came to a screeching halt and turned that way at full speed.

A great cacophony of laughter filled the air as he rounded the bend. He looked up and sure enough, there he was. Orihara Izaya, the mad vampire viscount, was in the air with his arms outstretched and head tilted back to release a mighty bout of laughter. Fire shot out of his hands as he spun in the air, raining the flames down onto the closest houses.

“IZAYA!” Shizuo yelled, running up.

The viscount jolted and looked down. His eyes fell on Shizuo, in which he smiled happily.

“Shizu-chan!” The raven called.

Izaya clenched his fists shut, the fire ending. He then fluttered down. The vampire landed on the snow, stumbling but catching himself just fine. He smiled up at Shizuo as he walked over.

“Shizu-chan! I'm so glad you're here!” Izaya yelled. “Come on, come on! Let's serve justice to these terrible murderers!”

Shizuo's eyes widened. “Ju-justice?”

“Yes, justice! For Hibiya!”

Iza-Izaya, what have you done?”

Izaya tilted his head. “What do you mean? It's about time Hibiya was avenged! No one else was going to do it, so we have to do it ourselves!”

“No, Izaya! Hibiya wouldn't want this!” Shizuo yelled. “There are women and children in those houses!”

“So what? They're all the same!”

Shizuo's was horrified to hear that, taking a step back reflexively.

Izaya looked confused. The vampire took a step up to Shizuo. “What's wrong, Shizu-chan? You're a priest. You're supposed to punish the wicked and protect the innocent. Hibiya was an innocent and his wicked killers were never punished! Now is time to get revenge!”

“The church isn't about revenge, Izaya!”

“Tomato/Tomãto! Punish the wicked and avenge the innocent!”

“Yes, the _wicked_! These people aren't wicked!”

“ _All_ humans are wicked! They're vile and evil and undeserving of mercy!”

 _ **'This isn't like you.'**_ Shizuo thought as his heart wrenched. ** _'You loved humanity. You'd go on and on about how humans are the most interesting beings in the world.'_**

“Shizu-chan, it's time we rise up!” Izaya called. “It's time we show humanity they aren't the biggest fish! For every vampire, for every werewolf who were murdered by humans!”

Izaya held a hand out to him.

“It's time, Shizu-chan. Let's do what monsters do best.”

Shizuo stared at him in horror. He shook his head as he took a step back. The priest's hands trembled on his staff. He closed his eyes tight shut as his heart wrenched.

_**'Izaya, this isn't like you. This isn't you. This violent, hateful man. This isn't the man I fell in love with. What do I...How do I...?'** _

He had to put a stop to this. He had to end this madness. But trying with therapy and patience wasn't working. Ten years of trying to help him wasn't working! Not even naming a child after his deceased brother had worked! What was Shizuo to do? What could possibly be done? Would Shizuo...have to put Izaya out of his misery?

_**'No, I can't! I can't do that to Izaya! There's no—Maybe he can still come around! Maybe going back to Japan will actually help him! Maybe Mikado can—'** _

“Shizu-chan?” Izaya questioned. “Why do you look scared?”

The blond looked up at him. “Be-because—”

“Are you still upset I came for a nightly visit?”

Such a question made Shizuo's heart skip a beat and his stomach wrench with nausea. His eyes widened in shock.

“W-what...?” Shizuo struggled to find his voice.

“Oh, wait, are you not upset?”

“What...What do you mean nightly visit?”

Izaya tilted his head. “When I came into your room and we had sex.”

Shizuo's blood turned to ice. His heart twisted, his stomach became a knot. He forgot how to breathe for a moment as his knees became weak. From that one sentence, Shizuo's whole world came crashing down.

“You...Wait...So-so you really...You raped me?”

Izaya looked confused, glowering with annoyance. “I can't rape you, Shizu-chan. We're lovers, remember? We're literally justified to have sex with each other whenever we want.”

Shizuo's heart started to beat fast, thudding loud enough that he could hear it in his ears.

_**'You're the one who told me that marital rape* was a concept that needed to be recognized by the church!'** _

“You seemed to be nervous about having sex recently, so I figured if I did it while you were sleeping, you'd be okay with it.” Izaya smiled. “And I was right, since you didn't question it when we woke up that morning!”

_**'I did question it! But you said you didn't! You said—'** _

Izaya glowered with annoyance. “Come on, you're not really upset about it, are you? You're making a face like I did something wrong.”

_**'Because you did!'** _

“This is the first time ever I got to play the male role with you. You never let me top you and since you were asleep, it's not like it could scare you then!”

_**'You took advantage of me. You used your breath to chloroform me and forced yourself on me!'** _

“Come on, Shizu-chan.” Izaya said, shrugging nonchalantly. “Let's just drop this matter and go punish the wicked together.”

Shizuo clenched his teeth. _**'This isn't like you. This isn't you, Izaya.'**_

Izaya smiled at the blond, a loving gaze taking over his expression. However, Shizuo didn't feel any love from him. The vampire reached his hand out to him again. The blond looked at the offering. However, that was all he did. The reality of the situation finally began to sink in for him. After ten, long years of hoping, of praying, Shizuo couldn't deny what he most feared. And with that realization came a current of cold steel that enveloped his heart.

Izaya looked at him in confusion. “Shizu-chan?”

Shizuo's swung his staff with all his might. Izaya's eyes widened in surprise as he jolted back out of reflex. The edge of the sharp cross sliced the vampire's chest, splattering blood across the snow.

_**'This isn't the man I fell in love with.'** _

The vampire's quick reflexes saved him from a deadly wound, the golden weapon only slicing the outer layer of skin on his chest.

_**'The man I loved is no longer here.'** _

However, Shizuo wouldn't stop there. He knew what he had to do.

_**'A madman has replaced him. It's time to face the truth.'** _

He had to put an end to this madness.

_**'Izaya's can't be cured. He's gone and he's not coming back.'** _

He had to punish the wicked and protect the innocent. He was a proper priest of the Awakusu-Kai church, a proper hunter trained by Haruya Shiki himself, the best vampire hunter Japan had ever seen. He had a responsibility, an obligation, to the poor people of this town who had suffered because of Shizuo's negligence, because of Shizuo's blindness. He had to stop Izaya, no matter what it'd take.

Izaya stared down at the wound on his chest wide-eyed, in utter shock. It was almost as if he didn't fully understand what happened. Then, all too quickly, his face twisted with rage and agony.

“YOU TRAITOR!” Izaya's scream was deafening.

_**'I love you, Izaya.'** _

The vampire let out an ear-piercing, inhuman shriek as he jolted forward, his wings flaring to give him additional speed. At the same time, fire flared from his charred hands. Shizuo’s grip tightened on his staff once again as he braced every muscles in his body for the coming assault.

* * *

The roof was engulfed in flames, the wood crackling and groaning. The beams above the doorway cracked and shifted precariously. Within seconds, they fell to the floor. The children screamed in fright. Toudai shielded them as best as he could. Rubi and the teacher did as well. Sparks of new flames flew across the room, catching fire to the desks and wooden floor.

The children screamed with fright.

“ _E-everyone! Everyone!”_ The teacher called, her voice wavering with barely contained nerves. _“We need to remain calm, children!”_

“ _What do we do?”_ One of them called.

“ _Laoshi, I’m scared!”_

“ _What’s happening?!”_

“ _Where’d the fire come from?!”_

Sobbed filled the room.

“ _Children, children!”_ Toudai called, patting as many of the child's heads as he could reach to gain their attention. _“We need to remain calm! I know it’s scary, but we need to be brave right now!”_

“Toudai! Toudai!” Rubi grabbed Toudai’s arm.

The doctor noticed instantly that his hands were shaking. A quick look up at his lover showed what he already feared. Rubi was frantic, panicking as he looking around wildly. His eyes darted around the room every which way. If he wasn't holding onto Toudai, the doctor was almost certain he might run away.

“Rubi…” Toudai turned and grabbed the blonde’s hand between his owns. He squeezed him tightly and forced eye contact. “Rubi, I need you to be brave too! The children need you to be brave!”

“I-I'm trying!” Rubi closed his eyes tight shut. “This is—this is just like back then! My mom, the villagers...!”

“I know!” Toudai tugged his hands. “But this is not the same as that situation! We're not boarded in. We can get out, we just need to—”

The roof began to creak loudly again. They all jolted, looking up at the ceiling. The support beams had caught flame. It would only be a matter of seconds before it fell on them. Rubi looked up then looked around.

“Towards the back window!” Rubi yelled, tugging on Toudai.

The raven nodded. _“Towards the back window! We'll try to get out through there! Everyone, put a cloth over you nose and mouth, so you don't inhale the smoke!”_

Rubi didn't know what Toudai said, but everyone nodded and went about doing as such. A good group of them took out handkerchiefs from their pockets and held them over their mouths. Some of the children started yelling, panicking since they didn't have handkerchief's. Rubi's lungs burned and he quickly put an arm over his face, coughing. At the same time, Toudai grabbed the hem of his shirt and began pulling. He ripped his button up all the way around. He then bit it and pulled at the same time. He distributed the pieces of clothe to the children, who held it over his face. He then gave a piece to Rubi.

“Don't inhale the smoke.” Toudai said.

Rubi nodded and held the clothe over his face. Toudai did the same.

As a group, everyone stood and headed towards the teachers desk. The teacher led the way, holding the hands of one of the children while two others held the back of her dress. Toudai stood in the fray of the group, gesturing them to follow. Rubi took up the rear to make sure none of them fell behind.

The roof creaked so, so loudly. Everyone looked obviously nervous and some of the children screamed to the noise. Rubi looked up with growing fear. Memories he had long wished to forget haunted his mind. Memories of the villagers screaming, the heat that growing more and more unbearable with each passing second, his mother's panic, his stepfather's commanding voice for Rubi to listen to him. Rubi doesn't recall what he said now, as an adult. All he could remember was the tone. And it was just like back then. Toudai's tone, the children screaming, the terrible heat and harsh smoke stinging his lungs.

 _ **'No, stop!'**_ Rubi thought, shaking his head. _**'I've got to be brave! I've got to focus!**_

Rubi heard groaning from the ceiling again. He looked up, then his eyes widened. The blond realized where the groaning was coming from. It was coming from the beams that they were heading for. And right as he realized that, he saw it shift.

“Wait, stop!” Rubi yelled, dropping his face clothe and grabbing two of the children's shirt. “It's going to collapse!”

Toudai looked back at him wide-eyed before heeding his advice. He yelled to the teacher, who jolted to a stop and looked up at the beam, pushing the children back while she walked backwards.

In the next moment, the beam fell. The children screamed and crossed their arms over their faces. The teacher turned her back on the destruction to protect the children. Toudai did so as well. Rubi hugged the two kids he had to his body and jumped back. The beam crushed the teacher's desk, thoroughly blocking the windows with crackling flames. A plume of ash, sparks, and embers flew out from the collapse.

“ _Is everyone okay?!”_ Toudai called.

“ _We're okay!”_ The teacher called back.

Rubi didn't know what was said. Nor did he care as he heard the beams above them begin to groan. Everyone else also heard the sound. They all looked up, the students screaming and crying with fear. The teacher and Toudai started talking quickly, the teacher looking terrified as she looked around wildly. Toudai was also looking around, clenching his teeth as uncertainty crossed his expression.

Rubi looked up at the roof. _**'This is just like back then! This is just like when mom—!'**_

The blond's eyes widened.

_**'If this is just like back then, then I can do as she did! I have to—'** _

The beam creaked again. Rubi knew what he had to do. That giant wooden structure was going to fall on all of them. There were over ten children that needed to be saved. They were all going to die if Rubi didn't do something. He had to do what was needed and he couldn't worry about being exposed.

Rubi pushed the children he had away and took off his bag. He knelt down.

“Hold this for me, okay?” Rubi held the duffel out to a little girl.

She didn't know what he said, but she understood the gesture and took the bag. Rubi smiled at her, then stood and jumped back. At the same time, he took off his shirt.

“Rubi?” Toudai questioned, then his eyes widened. “Rubi, you're not—”

The blond tossed the shirt to Toudai. Without a pause, he fell to his knees and started to imagine his wolf form. The white fur, the snout, the ears, the tail. His bones cracked and his muscles tore. Fur sprouted along every pore as his nails were ripped from his fingers and toes, being replaced with claws. He called out in pain, which quickly became the howl of a wolf.

Soon enough, Rubi—as a giant white wolf—stood.

“Rubi...” Toudai clenched his teeth with an expression of uncertainty.

Rubi also had a look of uncertainty in his pink orbs, but they didn't have time to ponder it. Rubi didn't even have time to look at the children's faces to see if they were scared as he heard the ceiling creak then snap. Rubi jumped forward. The children screamed and fell to their knees, as did the teacher. That was fine, that made it easier for the the giant wolf to stand over all of them.

The wooden beam came crashing down. Rubi closed his eyes and braced himself. In the next moment, he felt agonizing pain shoot throughout his back. The beam slammed into him, across his shoulder, spine, and hindquarters. What's worse, the pain didn't pass as the wood started to burn his flesh. He yelped in pain, howling and digging his claws into the ground.

The wolf wasted no time shrugging the beam off, tossing the giant piece of burning wood on the the ground a foot away on his right. Rubi whimpered as he stepped off the children on their left.

“Ru-Rubi!” Toudai stood and rushed to Rubi's side. “Are you okay?”

Rubi shook his head. But he would have to deal with it. There weren't that many beams left in the roof. Soon enough, the whole building was going to collapse on them. He had to get them out now!

“Rub—” Toudai was interrupted as the white wolf placed a gentle paw against his chest, pushing him back towards the children.

Rubi looked around. He noticed one of the windows was broken, most-likely caused by the initial blast of flame that hit the roof. It was at the back of the building, where they had originally been heading. Rubi nosed Toudai then tossed his head towards the window.

“Wh-what?” Toudai asked.

Rubi barked, nosing Toudai again.

“I don't know what you need! Rubi, we—”

Rubi dropped his chest to the floor, flicking his head in an obvious gesture for him to get on.

“Rubi, you're injured—”

The white wolf growled then barked. They did not have time to argue. Toudai knew that, so with reluctance, he clenched his teeth and turned to the children.

“ _Come here, kids!”_ Toudai called.

They looked hesitant to whatever Toudai said.

“ _We don't have time to worry about this! Come here!”_

A few of them jolted to that. And a few of them rushed up to him. Toudai grabbed one under the shoulders and lifted him up.

“ _You're going to ride him like a horse!”_ Toudai said in Taiwanese. “ _Hold onto his scruff!”_

“ _But his scruffs burned!”_

“ _I know, but we have to. Just do it, and keep your cloth over your mouth and nose!”_

The child nodded.

Rubi whimpered as the boy sat on his smoldering shoulders. He clenched his teeth, his lip pulling back in a snarl. He then coughed. His nose and lungs were burning, smoke hurting his chest. It was getting hard to breathe. Toudai noticed Rubi was breathing a little too harshly, however, he didn't mention anything. He had to focus on what was important. So, the doctor wasted no time putting another child on the wolf's shoulders. Rubi whimpered. Toudai lifted a third child, putting him on the wounded shoulders.

Rubi growled in pain. However, he lifted his front leg as a stepping stool. Toudai grabbed Rubi's back, which made him yelp as he grabbed his burns. The raven did his best to ignore that as he climbed up to sit behind the children. He leaned down which pinned the three children against each other, grabbing Rubi's scruff to keep them from falling off.

Rubi stood up properly, whimpering as the clothes chafed his burns. However, he had to put up with it. There was no other choice. The white wolf turned and made haste over to the window. Rubi leaped over the flames of the desk and beam. Fire licked at his underbelly, but it was only uncomfortable. He moved too fast for it to catch his fur ablaze.

However, that soon didn't matter as he landed in a smoldering pile of coals. Rubi yelped in pain, quickly jumping off them. Rubi slammed his side into the wall, in which Toudai called out in pain as his leg was pinned. Rubi stepped from foot to foot, his pads hurting so much from touching the wood. He needed water on his paws or something. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt!

Rubi lowered himself, whimpering.

“Rubi...” Toudai clenched his teeth.

However, he didn't say anymore since he finally understood what Rubi wanted. He saw the broken window right next to them. Toudai understood. Quickly, the doctor jumped off the werewolves back.

“ _Come on, kids! The window, quickly!”_

The children nodded and went about jumping off Rubi's back. Rubi lowered himself a bit to help them. While they piled off, Toudai watched where he was stepping. He saw the glass reflecting the fire and since he was only in his socks, he had to be careful. Luckily, the children had their slippers on, so they would be safer than Toudai.

The raven tread carefully, stepping on broken pieces of woods that weren't burning. He made an obvious path to the window. He then wrapped his hand in his haori sleeve. He hit the broken edges of the glass still in the window, so they wouldn't cut the kids as they went through.

“ _There's glass by the window, so step on the non-burning wood!”_ Toudai said.

The children nodded. Toudai then looked over the flame they came from.

“ _LAOSHI, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!”_ Toudai called.

“ _YES!”_ The teacher called back.

“ _THERE'S AN OPEN WINDOW OVER HERE! WE HAVE TO MOVE FAST! I KNOW YOU MAY BE SCARED, BUT PLEASE, TRUST RUBI! HE'S TRYING TO HELP AND THE CHILDREN ARE OUR PRIORITY!”_

There was no response. Toudai would just have to trust she believed him.

“Rubi, go back for the others!” Toudai said.

The wolf nodded. With effort, he stood upright and jumped back over the flame.

Toudai looked out the window. The house behind the school was also on fire, however, there was at least a twenty foot gap between that building and the one they were in. He then put his attention to the kids who were with him. He grabbed the closest one, a girl, and lifted her up.

“ _Walk into the open space, okay?”_ Toudai stated. _“Get away from this building but don't get too close to that one!”_

“ _O-okay, Laoshi!”_

“ _Watch out for glass!”_

“ _Okay!”_

Toudai put the girl out the window. She made haste into the center of the clearing. Toudai turned to the next child. Soon enough, all three were out of the school.

Rubi returned. The giant wolf jumped over the fire with four children on his back. The biggest of the children was leaning over the other three and holding Rubi's scruff, following Toudai's example. Toudai rushed over and helped them all down. Once they were off, Rubi immediately jumped back over the flame.

Toudai told them about the broken glass and guided them through the mess, where he then told them to stay in the open. He lifted one child out of the window, then the next, and the next.

 _ **'There are thirteen kids and sensei.'**_ Toudai thought. **_'We don't have that many to worry about.'_**

The roof creaked again. Toudai looked up. He could see the remaining beams shift.

“RUBI, QUICKLY!” Toudai yelled.

Toudai heard a bark in response. The doctor put the last child out the window.

Rubi jumped over the flame once again, whimpering in pain. As soon as he landed, he was limping, trying to favor one paw then the other. Toudai helped three more kids off his back. As soon as they were clear, Rubi jumped back over the flame.

The roof groaned again. Toudai quickly went about lifting the kids out, looking past them to count.

_**'One, two, three...eight...ten! Okay, two more and sensei!'** _

The roof creaked again. Toudai heard something crack. He looked up with a gasp. Toudai saw the beam that was between him and Rubi, on the other side of the fire, come collapsing down. There was a thunderous crash and a loud yelp of pain from the wolf.

“RUBI!” Toudai called.

Toudai could only hear the crackling flames in response. The doctor's heart thudded in his chest as fear began to grip him. Did that beam hit Rubi? Was he seriously injured? Could he not jump over the fire now? Toudai didn't know.

_**'Oh, god, what if he's gone? What if he died? Rubi, please! I can't—'** _

“ _L-Laoshi!”_ A boy pulled Toudai's sleeve.

The doctor looked down at the child next to him. He looked up at him with obvious fear and Toudai wasn't sure what kind of face he was making. The raven didn't have time to worry about his love. As much as he would like to, the children were more important, weren't they? He had to help these innocence get out.

Toudai nodded. He couldn't say anything right now. He had to keep his composure, so the kids wouldn't get scared, but he knew if he talked his voice would crack. He grabbed the child and lifted him up, putting him out the window.

With that, the last child was out. He stood waiting. He looked back to the flame, waiting to see the white wolf come through it. The roof groaned again.

“ _Laoshi, get out!”_ A student called.

“ _What—No, not without Rubi!”_

“ _The ceiling's making so many noises!”_ One child called.

“ _Laoshi, what if it caves in!”_

“ _Xinyi-laoshi is with the others, so she can get them through!”_

“ _At least be on this side of the window!”_

“ _Please Laoshi! We're scared!”_

The roof groaned again, making Toudai jolt. He looked up at the beams. A profound jab of survival instinct kicked in, followed with a stab of guilt. He decided to listen to that instinct and listen to the children. He looked back to the flames.

_**'Come on, Rubi!'** _

Toudai hopped out of the window, trying to avoid the glass. His socks became soaked immediately and his feet began to freeze. He felt something stab into the bottom of his foot, in which he quickly flinched away. He stepped to the side, away from any visible glass, and waited, peering into the room.

“RUBI!” Toudai called. “HUR—”

The roof groaned one last time, followed by a deafening crack. Crack, after crack, after crack filled the air. Toudai jolted and quickly ran away from the building. It was purely instinctual fear that guided his movements in that moment. It was a good thing he did, though, as the roof collapsed entirely. The wood snapped over and over again, sounding like a tree falling as the fire was forced out the windows and doors in an explosive burst of heat. He certainly would have been burned if he was standing there.

Toudai stared back at the school, stared at the flames with wide eyes. The tall building was now flattened, bulging in random spots with burning wood. His heart twisted with terror and loss as the gravity of the situation hit him.

Rubi was still inside. The roof just collapsed on top of him. There was no way he could have survived that. Rubi was...

Tears stung Toudai's eyes as his chest swelled with emotions he couldn't contain.

“RUBI!” Toudai screamed at the top of his lungs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Marital rape wasn't something that was recognized by law (in America) until the 1970's.


	6. Chapter 6

The crackling fire of the school was all Toudai could hear. He couldn't hear anything else. Not the scream that tore through his throat, not the cries of the children who were standing behind him. All he could hear was the thing that killed his lover, his partner of ten years, his husband.

Toudai fell to his knees and tilted his head down, digging his hands into the snow. The cold didn't reach him. He felt so hot as his lungs twisted. It twisted so much that he couldn't breathe for a moment. He coughed and fell away into sobs. Tears flooded his eyes to drip into the snow without restraint.

Toudai doesn't know how long he sat their breaking down. He doesn't know how long he sat their crying and screaming for Rubi. However, eventually he was able to regain his composure. Eventually, he was able to hear the children's cries, which officially pulled him from his grief. They were calling out for Rubi as well, calling out for their teacher and the two children still inside, and crying their eyes out. Toudai looked over his shoulder at them.

_**'I need to...They need me right now...They....'** _

Toudai turned to them and tried to force a smile, but he could feel his bottom lip trembling. He raised his hands for calm, which worked as the kids quieted their sobs.

“ _W-we...”_ Toudai started. His voice was shaking with barely contained emotions. _“We have to get out of he-here. We have to get out of the t-town.”_

“ _But xiansheng...”_

“ _And Xinyi-loashi...”_

“ _Yanfang and Jiawei were still in there too!”_

“ _We can't do anything for them.”_ Toudai said. _“We have to worry about ourselves right now.”_

Toudai forced himself to his feet, walked over to the children. He then gestured for them to follow.

“ _We have to go.”_

Many of the students clenched their teeth as tears freely flowed. But they nodded and walked up to him.

“ _Come on, children. Hold each others hands. We're going to make a link and run.”_

“ _Wh-what about your feet? You're not wearing shoes.”_

“ _Shoes...”_

Toudai looked down. He hadn't even thought about it. He didn't really care either. But he would probably care later. He nodded and slung his bag around. How he even still had it on, he didn't know. But there it still was as he reached inside. He pulled out an extra pair of boots, his socks soaked through but he didn't care. He didn't even bother tying them properly, just wrapped it around the ankle and put a knot in.

Once on, Toudai held his hand out to one of the children. They grabbed his hand, the other following by example until they were a human chain.

Toudai turned and led the group away from the broken school, breaking out into a jog. He checked over his shoulder to make sure no one was falling behind. He then faced front. The group ran through the maze of burning houses. Toudai led them away from the inferno's as best as he could, turning around houses that were standing and houses that were already crumbled.

Toudai wasn't paying attention to where they were running or where they were. He was trying to focus, but it was so hard to pay attention to anything when he knew Rubi was buried under a burning house. How could he pay attention when he was running away from his lover? What if Rubi was alive? What if he was waiting for Toudai to help him and Toudai just abandoned him? He knew that wasn't the case, but what if?

_**'No, focus. Focus! The children...'** _

Toudai clenched his teeth, tears stinging his eyes. He shook his head, but kept running. They were nearly three blocks away from the school now.

_**'We need to get to the main street. Curling between burning houses is too dangerous.'** _

Toudai looked around them. Immediately, he spotted an exit. He made a left through a particularly large gap between two houses. His bare foot kicked something, but he didn't think much of it.

“ _Careful, there's something under the snow there!”_

No one tripped over the item. Soon enough, they were on a street, safely away from any houses. He could hear people screaming, fire crackling, and wood groaning. Every sound made Toudai hopeful that he'd recognize Rubi's voice. He couldn't tell if the groaning wood was that of burning houses, or groaning because it was being moved. There was on groan in particular that was extremely loud, followed by something crashing. Hope filled his chest that maybe it was Rubi. He couldn't see the school where they were at, but what if it was him?

Soon enough, he found out what it was as a priest came flying through the air. Toudai jolted and quickly pushed the closest children behind him. Shizuo slammed into the snow in front of them, calling out in pain as snow, ash, dirt and a golden cross flew through the air. Toudai turned his back on the priest and wrapped his arms around the closest children. He heard the staff clatter against the ground by them.

The priest groaned and sat up. He brushed the snow out of his hair and looked around for his staff.

“Shizuo-san!” Toudai called. “What's going on?”

Shizuo looked over at him. His eyes fell on Toudai, in which his expression twisted in pain. He then closed his eyes tight shut. When he opened it again, he looked at him with cold steel.

“Izaya's gone to a place where we cannot follow.” The priest said, clenching his teeth. “He attacked the town with his fire.”

Toudai's eyes widened.

“I'm glad you're alright.” Shizuo pushed himself to his feet. “Where's Rubi?”

Toudai's expression immediately soured with agony as fresh tears stung his eyes. His hands started to tremble, squeezing the children's hands.

“He was in the school when the roof collapsed...” Toudai's voice filled with emotions.

Shizuo's eyes widened. He then clenched his teeth. A solemn expression crossed his face as he nodded.

“I will do what I need to do.” The blond walked over and picked up his staff from the snow.

Toudai's eyes widened, then softened when he realized the implications behind those words.

“Shizuo-san...” Toudai started.

“You do what you need to do and get those children to safety.” The priest looked in the direction he came from.

“Wait, Shizu—” Toudai took a step towards him.

“Go, Toudaimoto.” Shizuo said sternly.

The raven wanted to argue. But after ten years in the pack, he knew when to rebuttal the alpha, and when not to. This wasn't one of those times.

“...Yes, Shizuo-san.” He then turned to the kids and spoke in Taiwanese. _“Come, children.”_

“ _Who's that?”_ One of the students asked.

“ _A friend of mine. Come, we need to—”_

An ear-piercing screech tore through the air. They all looked up to see a pale man with huge bat wings shooting towards them at a terrifying speed. The vampire that Toudai recognized as Orihara Izaya came flying towards Shizuo at full speed.

Fire flared from his black hands before he threw a blast of flames at Shizuo. Toudai jolted and quickly turn to the kids to shield them. However, he didn't need to as the blond priest stabbed his cross into the ground, where a golden light flared from the center of the staff. The fire connected and flared off as if it bounced off a shield.

Toudai's eyes widened to seeing that. _**'I didn't know he had magic!'**_

“GET OUT OF HERE, TOUDAIMOTO!” Shizuo yelled.

The doctor jolted and nodded.

“ _Run, children!”_ Toudai called, grabbing two hands of the closest kids.

Toudai turned and ran, pulling the chain of children away from the fight.

* * *

Shizuo glared up at Izaya. However, his glare held no animosity. He had no reason to hate Izaya. No, this was just like any other hunt. This was just like any other time he's hunted a hostile vampire. He felt nothing for this man. He couldn't feel anything for this man. If he did, he wouldn't be able to continue his attack. So instead, he let ice seep into his heart, take it completely over and freeze it solid.

With that ice came complacency in what he was doing. He could swing without hesitation. He could aim for the killing blow with confidence. He could do what he needed to do.

Izaya glared down at him, flapping his wings furiously to stay airborne. Fire flared from his charred hands. They certainly should be burning Izaya's clothes and probably his wings too. But Shizuo knew Izaya's control of the flames and knew he could make the flames cold where he wanted them to be.

Yes, Shizuo knew how well Izaya could use those flames. And he also knew that such magic wasn't natural to him. And when it came to magic, one has to be born with it else it comes at a cost. In regards to elemental magic, that cost was the body in the form of a magical rebound. Every element rebounded different. In the case of fire, it would do as fire does—burn him black until every inch of him was charred to a crisp.

Which meant Izaya wouldn't be able to use it for much longer. There was no doubt in Shizuo's mind that Izaya's arms were fully charred and his torso would soon be following. He was going to need to stop using the flames soon. He had to be in so much pain. Yet, he didn't show any agony. He only glared at Shizuo with no remorse and complete hatred.

“You threw your lot in with them!” Izaya screamed. “After everything we've been through together, you'd kill me to protect a bunch of murderers!”

Shizuo said nothing. There was nothing he could say. Izaya's mind was too far gone for him to talk reason into him.

Shizuo's silence infuriated Izaya. With an inhuman screech, the raven threw another fireball at Shizuo. The blond simply stabbed his golden cross into the ground. He was engulfed in golden light, in which the fire bounced off.

When the fire dissipated, the vampire was there, on the other side of the shield. Shizuo's eyes widened.

_**'He used the fire as a distraction to close the gap!'** _

Izaya swung his hand out as hard as he could, hitting the cross. The golden shield only protected against inhuman attacks, so it couldn't block a simple punch. The weapon flew out of Shizuo's hands. It flew across the barren road and slammed into a burning building, where it broke through the wood and disappearing into the house. Izaya's other hand came out to point at Shizuo's face. Fire flared around his hand anew.

Shizuo grabbed the viscounts wrists and pushed them out to the side. The flame shot out inches from the blonde's head. He could smell burnt hair, he could feel the uncomfortable heat against his cheek. He clenched his teeth to keep his voice down. He couldn't give Izaya any sign of weakness. He had to remain strong and quiet.

Izaya struggled against Shizuo. He clenched his teeth hard as he pulled. Then his eyes widened in realization. Shizuo knew what he realized. He could just turn his hands towards the blonde's face and burn him to death in seconds.

Shizuo knew that, and immediately knew how to stop it. The blond allowed himself to fall backwards, pulling Izaya with him. He then swung his leg up and kicked the vampire in the stomach. At the same time, Shizuo let his wrists go and Izaya went flying overhead.

The vampire couldn't get air under his wings since his back was to the ground. Although he tried. As Shizuo rolled over on his stomach, he saw his wings flapping wildly, along with his flailing arms. It did no good. Once Izaya finally touched ground, he somersaulted in the snow, spinning head over heals until making a divot in the snow.

Shizuo leaped to his feet and flared his arm out towards his cross. He waited. Izaya quickly shifted around, so his feet were against the snow mound he just made. With expanded wings, he pushed off at a blinding speed. Fire engulfed his hands again.

Izaya pulled his fist back in a mighty swing. At the same time, the cross broke out of the burning wood and came flying towards them. Izaya must have had tunnel vision if he didn't see it coming. Right as Izaya would have hit Shizuo, the blond hopped back and swung his arm in front of himself. The cross followed his hand.

The golden weapon slammed into Izaya hard. The vampire called out in surprise as he was sent flying again, this time to the right. Shizuo saw blood hit the snow in front of him.

Izaya disappeared into the gap between two buildings as Shizuo called back his cross. It floated over quickly until it was in the blonde's hand again. Shizuo saw there was blood on the tip of the right crossbar. But there wasn't much. It was only on the very tip, proof it cut him but did not pierce. It wasn't a fatal wound.

However, it was enough to enrage Izaya. The raven let out a call of anger as fire flared. They engulfed the houses on either side of him. Shizuo's eyes widened and he quickly recoiled at just the sheer heat that came from it.

He then heard someone scream. It wasn't Izaya, but a woman. Shizuo's eyes widened.

_**'There's still people around.'** _

Izaya walked out of the gap. Fire engulfed his entire arms. His sleeves were burning now, exposing that both appendages were completely charred black. Izaya wasn't focusing on making the flames cold anymore. His eyes bore on Shizuo with profound hatred and nothing else. Fire trailed behind him, cascading over the snow to burn it away. Every step he took melted the snow and burned the grass underneath, leaving an ashen circle around his foot.

Izaya lifted his arm and, without hesitation, shot a ball of fire at Shizuo. It was massive, the size of which momentarily scared Shizuo and made him act on instinct. The blond dived to the side. The fire flew past his head as Shizuo got a face full of snow. The house behind the blond blew up in pieces, scattering wood everywhere. Shizuo's eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the house was gone.

The raw power of the blast didn't shake Shizuo. The obvious intent to kill didn't shake Shizuo.

However...

_**'If there was someone inside that house...'** _

Shizuo's heart wrenched at the thought, his hands beginning to tremble. Doubt started to prickle at his mind. He decided to fight Izaya so no one else got hurt, but it seemed that fighting Izaya was the reason more people will die. It would all be Shizuo's fault.

The blond was frozen for a moment. Then he clenched his teeth. He shoved all the doubt down, letting that ice seep back into his chest. He looked back at Izaya.

_**'I need to get him out of the town. If there's any survivors, they won't have a chance if we keep fighting here.'** _

Izaya raised his other arm to launch another fireball.Shizuo pushed himself to his feet. He then swung his cross, digging the end into the ground. He threw a flurry of snow and dirt at the vampire. Izaya waved his hand out to make a wall of fire, which burnt away everything thrown at him. It was only a nuisance for ten seconds at most.

However, that ten seconds was all Shizuo needed to get a running start towards the beach. The blond ran full sprint down the barren street and made an immediate right around the houses. Izaya looked around wildly for a moment, confused that Shizuo wasn't there. However, he quickly spotted the blond. He glared once again, then clenched his teeth.

“YOU COWARD!” Izaya yelled.

Shizuo heard the flapping of wings giving chase.

“YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME! YOU WANTED THIS FIGHT AND NOW YOU'LL GET IT!”

_**'That's right, follow me. We have to get away from the town.'** _

Shizuo heard the whizzing of another fireball. He heard it coming from his left, so he quickly jumped to the right. The ground where he had been standing exploded in a small array of snow and dirt. With no time gap between, he heard another whizz of a fireball. It sounded like it was on his right, so he jumped left. Yet another small explosion went off where he had been standing.

Right as the explosion went off, Shizuo barely heard another shot go off. Shizuo realized immediately Izaya led the target. He wouldn't be able to dodge this one. So, it was time to batter up.

Shizuo jumped up and spun himself around mid-air with his cross ready to swing. A fireball was coming at him. There was no dodging, like Shizuo thought. He waited till the last second, then swung his cross. It tore through the flame easily, dispersing the flames around Shizuo.

The blond landed on his feet then dug his heels in. He brought the cross close to his face, in which he blew on the small red gem in the middle. He then swung it as hard as he could. A gust of golden wind flew out. Izaya crossed his arms over his face. The wind didn't hurt him. However, it flung him back. The raven spun in the air a few times before his wings started flapping madly.

As soon as he flung his wind attack, Shizuo turned and ran again. He had even more of a head start than before. The blond could smell the saltwater. He couldn't see it, but he could smell it, so he had to be close.

“YOU DIRTY RAT!” Izaya yelled. “WHY ARE YOU RUNNING WHEN YOU STARTED IT?!”

Shizuo didn't respond. He just had to keep running. Thankfully, Izaya's voice was quite far, but he could certainly bridge the gap with those mighty wings. Shizuo had to move fast. He had to get there quickly. He needed to get there before Izaya caught up.

There was a small hill in front of him. He looked over his shoulder, to see Izaya had finally righted himself and was flying towards him again. Shizuo pulled out the leather braces for his cross. He slid them, one up under the crossbars and one at the bottom into the metal loop. He pulled out the leather strap with snap hooks on either end. He applied them to the braces, then breathed into the gem on the cross again.

He heard the whizzing of another fireball. He quickly slung the cross over his back and just kept running. Not even a second later, a ray of gold shined behind him, flames dancing around him.

“WHY WON'T YOU FACE ME?!” Izaya yelled. “WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?!”

Shizuo didn't answer again. He made it to the top of the hill. He could see the ocean. It was on the other side of the houses. The blond ran faster. He pumped his arms harder. He had to get there quickly!

Izaya let out another ear-piercing screech. Another fireball shot out, however, it never hit Shizuo's shield. His eyes widened to see it go flying over his head. He could do nothing but watch it go past him. The buildings in front of Shizuo became ablaze with new fire, the roof exploding off the top as part of the fireball went in through the window. The blond came to a screeching stop and crossed his arms in front of his face to protect from the heatwave.

He heard people screaming. Woman and children. His heart wrenched to the noise.

_**'Were there people still in those houses?! No, no. It can't be. It blew the roof off so anyone inside wouldn't be able to screa—'** _

Shizuo's thought was cut as he was tackled by the screeching vampire.


	7. Chapter 7

Toudai came to the bottom of the steep, steep hill. The town was in a kind of natural bowl, where half the town was surrounded by a steep hillside. It leveled out around the shrine then swept back up to the forest overlooking a cliffside. They could go around the hill towards the shrine instead of trying to climb the slope. However, the shrine was cut off by a line of burning houses, so the raven had no choice but to try and brace the hill.

It was certainly steep and the snow wouldn't make it easy either, but it wasn't a direct upward incline. They could do it.

“ _Alright, children!”_ Toudai called, _“Last step! We just have to make it up the hill!”_

They all looked uncertain, looking up the sharp slope.

“ _We can do it. I'll be right behind you.”_

They all hesitated. But then they nodded. Toudai forced a smile.

“ _Alright, two at a time. The rest stay close to the hill, away from the fires.”_

* * *

Shizuo and Izaya rolled over in the snow, struggling to get on top of the other. At the same time, the vampire was swiping wildly at his lover. The blond felt elongated nails rake across his clothes. Most of the blows hit his armor but a few hit the meaty soft spot of his stomach and face. He didn't feel pain, but he felt it become warm with blood.

The two rolled and rolled until finally, Shizuo slammed his knee and heel into the ground. They came to a skidding stop across the frozen landscape with Izaya pinned to the ground. The vampire hissed and continued to slice at him. Shizuo felt blood trail down his cheek but said nothing.

The priest swung his cross around. He didn't bother undoing the strap. With as much room as he could he brought the cross up and stabbed it down towards the vampire's chest. Shizuo wasn't going to decapitate Izaya. He couldn't do such a thing like that, not to someone he had held dear. He had already reserved himself to ending the love of his life; but he didn't have to make it a gory, desecrating death.

Izaya's eyes widened. He went to catch it without hesitation. The sharp end of the staff stabbed into his hand, piercing through it completely. He called out in pain.

The cross continued to stab down, aimed for his heart. Izaya closed his hand around the staff. His other hand reached up and grabbed it as well. The weapon came to a stop centimeters over his heart.

The two clenched their teeth. Izaya glared at him with hatred while Shizuo just stared at him calmly. The cross shook as they both pushed on it. However, it became apparent that the priest was winning out. Izaya's hamd was slick with blood, so he could only grip it properly with the other one. It slowly started to slide down his hold, millimeter by millimeter.

Izaya's breathing became hard as his eyes filled with panic. The sharp end of the staff pushed into his clothes and prickled his skin. He squeezed harder and pushed with more strength. Shizuo continued to win out.

Izaya clenched his teeth hard. Then his eyes misted over with tears. Shizuo's eyes widened surprise.

_**'Izaya...doesn't cry.'** _

“So, this what you really wanted all these years.” Izaya said. “You still hate me for making you a thrall. You still wanted me dead, even though you said you loved me.”

Shizuo's heart wrenched to the words. He immediately felt his resolve wane.

“Why did you play me for all these years?” Tears streaked Izaya's cheeks. “If you still hated me you should have just let Yodojiri—”

“No, Izaya, I love you!” Shizuo clenched his teeth hard, feeling his eyes sting with tears. “I still love you...”

“Then why?!” Izaya called. “Why are you doing this?!”

Shizuo felt his hands start to tremble. His determination was completely shattered. He didn't want to do this anymore. Seeing Izaya cry, how could he possibly keep going with this heinous crime? How could he possibly try to kill the man he had been in love with for over 15 years?

_**'No, he betrayed me. He violated me. He's not in his right mind and he won't ever be in his right mind. He murdered so many people today! I can't...!'** _

Shizuo's grip loosened.

The sorrowful expression on Izaya's face disappeared immediately and became a glare of hatred. He gripped the staff hard and shoved up. The cross beam slammed into Shizuo's chest, knocking him back. At the same time, Izaya's other hand left the staff and swung out. Shizuo's eyes stretched wide as his stomach became unbearably hot and wet. He saw blood, strips of clothes, and bits of flesh fly through the air to scatter across the snow.

Shizuo stared for a moment, stunned. Was that crying fit all an act? Did Izaya really just manipulate him by playing with the fact Shizuo loved him? Shizuo knew Izaya was a smart schemer and played dirty mind games. But he had never used them on Shizuo. He had never used their love as a means to his ends. He would never...

Shizuo's heart became cold. Izaya smiled up at him with that cocky grin, but it meant nothing to him. He couldn't feel anger or hatred. His emotions were just gone.

And with that, he was able to swing his staff without hesitation.

The pointed edge of the crossbeam pierced Izaya's neck. There was no resistance as it stabbed through until the staff pressed against the side of his face, coming out the other side. Izaya's eyes widened with pure shock. His mouth gaped like a fish out of water as he struggled to breathe.

Shizuo pulled the crossbeam out. An alarming amount of blood poured across the snow. Izaya fell backwards, holding his neck with both hands as panic flooded his eyes. He backpedaled frantically, pushing himself away from Shizuo with obvious terror.

The blond pulled the crossbeam under the crease of his shoulder, pressing the length of his arm down the golden weapon and resting along his wrist. Shizuo stood and walked over to him. Izaya started shaking his head, his mouth moving to form words. Shizuo knew what he was saying. He could see it plane as day.

“ _Shizuo...Shizuo...”_

But Shizuo wouldn't let those lips sway him twice. His heart was frozen to the core. It didn't beat for this vampire anymore. As blood poured out of Shizuo's stomach, he felt nothing as he walked over to the man he had proclaimed to love.

Izaya stared at him with fear, huffing hard and trembling. His wings twitched. Shizuo was prepared to stop him if he tried to fly away.

However, Izaya fell still instead. He looked up at him, his eyes misting over with fresh tears. Shizuo wasn't going to let the sob story trick him twice. Although, this one looked more complacent. His expression looked like it was filled with regret and acceptance. Shizuo refused to understand why. It was probably just another trick.

Shizuo stood over the raven again, lifting the golden cross. The two made eye contact. He didn't stare for too long, in case those russet eyes swayed him again.

Shizuo plunged the cross with as much strength as he could, aimed for Izaya's heart.

Izaya mouthed another sentence. Shizuo knew what it was.

“ _I'm sorry...”_

The end of the staff plunged into his chest. It hit the beating heart, punctured through, and stabbed out of Izaya's back to pierce the snow. Izaya let out a gasp, a gargled noise that made chills go up Shizuo's spine. The vampire convulsed as he grabbed the staff. It was a weak hold where he mad no attempt to pull the staff out.

Izaya slid down the staff until he laid in the snow. Tears slowly trailed from his eyes as his body rose and fell with deep breathes.

The raven mouthed another sentence. Once again, Shizuo knew what it was. He knew Izaya too well not to know what he was saying.

“ _I love you, Shizu-chan...”_

Shizuo clenched his teeth hard. The ice was still there, still holding his heart tight, and it froze his tears in their ducts. He couldn't cry. He wasn't going to cry. But that wasn't going to suddenly make the crippling emotions leave.

He pulled the cross out. Blood connected the injury and the weapon for a moment before the crimson strings separated. Shizuo swung the cross around, where it rested against his back. The blond fell to his knees over Izaya. His armored hand reached out to hold the side of Izaya's face, rubbing his thumb across his cheek lovingly. He leaned down close until his forehead tapped against the vampire's forehead.

Izaya's eyes were already glazing over. The light was leaving them at an alarming rate. Shizuo probably only had a few seconds to say what he wanted.

“I love you too, Izaya.” Shizuo said, “I'm sorry that it came to this.”

Izaya's shaking hand reached up to touch Shizuo's cheek.

“...You'll...” Izaya's voice was strained. Shizuo wasn't sure how he was able to talk with a hole in a throat but he spoke all the same. “Never...Forget...Me...Right...?”

Shizuo swallowed hard. He closed his eyes tight shut and grabbed Izaya's hand. “I could never forget you. Even if I wanted to, there's no way I could forget someone who gave me so much. I'll...I'll miss you, Izaya. I really...”

Shizuo opened his eyes, where his words fell off. The light had left Izaya's eyes. They were dark and lifeless. Izaya wasn't holding his hand up anymore. If it wasn't for Shizuo holding it, it would have fallen to the snow already.

Shizuo's heart wrenched and squeezed painfully at the same time.

“I...Izaya...”

Shizuo touched his cheek. Cold to the touch. He clenched his teeth hard and tilted his head down. He wanted to cry but that ice he had felt in his heart only spread instead. His body started to feel numb and his limbs felt cold.

_**'He's...gone...'** _

Shizuo closed his eyes tight shut, resting his forehead against Izaya's.

“...Heiwajima...”

The blond looked up. The captain to the boat, Eijirou, stood before him. His hands, shoes and pants were covered in soot and his sleeves were rolled up.

“You did the right thing.” The captain said. “He tried to kill the whole town. You did what you had to.”

“...Yeah...I know...”

_**'But that's not going to make me feel better...'** _

Shizuo shifted. He undid his holy robe, shrugging it off. He obviously had pants and a shirt on underneath, although they were thin compared to the robe. The winter night air would surely freeze him before long. His werewolf blood would be the only thing keeping him warn and that blood was quickly pouring out over the snow.

Shizuo didn't care though. He wrapped the holy robes around the vampire. He fastened it shut, to keep the blood from spilling out, making sure the hole Izaya created was over Izaya's stomach. He couldn't let the vampire's blood get into his wounds or on the snow anymore. If anyone was wounded and got the blood in their cut, they may become a vampire. What's more, if Shizuo got it in his wounds, he might become a thrall again. Neither were things that he could let happen.

“But the blood.” Shizuo said to the captain. “It's vampire blood, so someone might get infected.”

“I will, don't worry about that.” Eijirou said.

Shizuo nodded as he finished tightening the straps.

“You're wounded.” the captain said, walking over. “Let's get you to a doctor. There's one on the beach taking care of survivors. He—”

“I'm fine.”

Shizuo picked Izaya up. His hands came under the raven's shoulder and knees and hugged him close. The blond then stood. Blood poured forth from Shizuo's stomach at an alarming rate.

“You're bleeding badly!” Eijirou called. “You need a doctor!”

“I don't need a doctor.” Shizuo turned and walked away.

“You're going to bleed out!” Eijirou reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

The blond pulled his arm away.

“I just need to be alone.” Shizuo hugged Izaya close. “I need to be alone...”

The alpha walked away. Eijrou opened his mouth to say something, but nothing he could say would convince Shizuo—and he knew that. Shizuo looked up at the forest on the outskirts of town. There was probably a nice, quiet place he could take Izaya's body in that direction. Trees and the cliffside by the sea. Certainly, there's be a good place for Izay athere.

The blond made his way out of the town, a trail of blood following behind him in the snow.

* * *

“ _We made it!_ ” One of the children yelled.

Calls of relief filled the group of children. A lot of them were hugging each other and crying. There were already multiple adults on the top of the head. Some were the parents of the children and quickly ran over. A lot were injured and unable to move. More adults were coming out of the woods, the hunters coming back from their hunts. Names were being thrown around as men tried to find their families. Conversations were going on with those there and yells of worry for someone who wouldn't answer.

They all sounded so far away to Toudai. His focus was on the burning town, particularly the way they came. He couldn't see the school from the top of the hill. Usually he could, but there was so much smoke, so much fire over the roofs of houses. Or maybe it was because it wasn't there anymore. It had collapsed after all, so the other houses were probably overshadowing it. Overshadowing the grave of his love.

Toudai was fighting tears. He needed to stay composed. He needed to stay calm. There were people injured behind him. He had to do his job as a doctor. He had to help people. He had to...

Someone tugged on his sleeve. Toudai turned to see one of the children. He was holding a duffle bag. Rubi's duffle bag. Toudai's heart wrenched.

“ _Xiansheng gave this to me.”_ The child said, tears in his eyes. _“He told me to hold onto it until...”_

The child clenched his teeth. The boy couldn't stop himself from sobbing as he held it out to Toudai.

“ _Here, take it!”_

Toudai couldn't say anything. His voice was stuck in his throat like a lump. He couldn't breathe for a moment. With shaky hands, he reached out and grabbed the bag. It was heavier than his own, filled with all the essentials that they would ever need on their journey. The essentials that were no longer important now that they would only take care of one.

He hugged the duffle to his chest. He shouldn't have done that. As soon as he did, he realized he shouldn't have done that. Because the bag still smelt like Rubi. The smoke hadn't seeped into the strong leather. But the wolfy musk mixed with the scent of wild berries—the scent of their soap—was there. After years of Rubi owning this bag, it was only natural that it would smell like him. It was only natural that it would have his scent embedded into it.

Toudai's world came crumbling down with just that one waft.

Tears welded in Toudai's. He clenched his teeth hard. His legs weakened so he fell to his knees. The doctor bowed his head, burying his face into the duffle as he just sobbed.

What had he been thinking? Who cared about the wounded people?! Who cared about anything?! Now that he didn't have to worry about the children anymore, the raven could finally focus on his grief. On the fact that he lost his lover, his husband, his best friend of twelves years.

“Rubi...” He choked out weakly.

“ _...Laoshi...”_ One of the children started.

“ _Please just leave me alone for a moment.”_ Toudai bemoaned. _“I can't compose myself right now...”_

There was no response, so Toudai could only assume the child listened. He was free to cry in peace for a little bit. He knew he couldn't remain like that. He could hear people asking for a doctor. No doubt there were many who may be close to death's door and Toudai might be the only doctor left alive. He had to compose himself. He had to hold good to his vows. He had to do be strong. But...

_**'What am I going to do now? What am I supposed to do without Rubi? How can I live without him? What am I supposed to do? How do I...'** _

Toudai clenched his teeth hard.

_**'Ah, fuck, what am I going to tell Roppi? How do I even begin to tell him that I'm the only one left? How do I tell him his brother died saving a bunch of human children? Do I even go back to Japan? Do I just go back home? Heh, yeah right. Make the two weak journey by myself? As if I could even get that far? And what would I even go back to? A bunch of empty houses; an empty house filled with Rubi's stuff.'** _

To hell with the world and everyone else's needs. Toudai was lost. Once again, his most important person left him behind. First his father, then his cat, and now his one and only love. Why does everyone leave him?

_**'Why do I live while everyone dies? Why does everyone I love have to die? Why can't I just die with them?'** _

Toudai's chest felt heavy and cold. He felt the hatred seep away as hopelessness took it's place. A desire to give up, so strong, so profound, took over his whole being.

Someone gasped. _“Laoshi!”_

But Toudai ignored them. He didn't even hear them. His mind was focusing on something else. Something more sinister and wretched.

_**'That's not a bad idea. Rubi was the last thing I had, and now, even he's gone. I should be with him. I'm alright with burning in hell with him, so let me die. Let me be with Ru—'** _

“ _Laoshi!”_ Someone tugged on his sleeve.

Annoyance crept into Toudai's being. He glowered into the bag and pulled his arm away, hugging the duffle tighter.

“ _Please, child, I—”_

“ _Look!”_ A small hand grabbed him again, this time his shoulder, and began pulling on him. _“Look, Laoshi! Look!”_

Toudai looked up to glare at him. The boy flinched to his hateful look, but he pointed behind the raven all the same. Toudai didn't want to play these games. He didn't care for whatever this brat had to say. But, to humor him so that he'll leave him alone, he looked over his shoulder.

Toudai's eyes widened.

Walking down the main road of the town, coming from the direction he and the children had come from, was a heavily limping, giant white wolf. For a moment, he refused to believe it. Denial gripped him hard. Was he just hallucinating? Was his eyes playing tricks on him?

The thought was gone as soon as it came. Because without question, what he looked at was real. There was certainly an giant ash-covered wolf with two children sitting on his back and a woman walking next to him. There was no seeing that wrong.

Toudai's heart squeezed. The relief and happiness that filled his being was enough to make him scream like a maniac.

Which he did.

“RUBI!”


	8. Chapter 8

Toudai dropped the duffle and pushed himself to his feet in a sprint.

“ _W-wait, Laoshi!”_

Toudai didn't listen to whoever called to him. He ran to the edge of the slope and slid down the hill on his side. His clothes became soaked but he didn't care. Within a few seconds, he was to the bottom, pushing himself back to his feet. He ran without pause. He didn't care about anything else!

“Rubi! Rubi!”

Toudai's hands reached out. The gray wolf took a final step forward before the two reached each other. His fingers touched the coarse flesh of Rubi's muzzle. The warm, living flesh of the white werewolf covered in soot. This wasn't a trick. This wasn't an illusion. This wasn't some trick of Toudai's grieving mind.

“It's you...It's really you!”

Toudai's eyes filled with tears, but this time they were happy tears. The doctor wrapped his arms around Rubi's muzzle, hugging the giant snout against his whole body.

“I thought I lost you...” Toudai sobbed, pressing his face into the fur between Rubi's eyes. “I thought you died...”

“ _The floor was collapsing under us.”_ Xinyi said.

Toudai looked at the teacher. She was also covered in ash and had her arms wrapped around the wolves neck. He wasn't sure if it was because she was injured and needed the support or if she just didn't want to get separated from him. The two children, Yanfang and Jiawei, were a little cleaner than the adults with them but still had a bit of ash on them. They sat on Rubi's neck, holding onto the little bit of scruff that they weren't sitting on.

“ _When Rubi-xiansheng jumped back to get us, his front paws went through the floor. He became stuck and we couldn't get him out.”_

“ _Th-then the roof collapsed.”_ Jiawei said, _“Xiansheng heard it before it did though, so he started stomping on the floor with his back feet until he broke a big hole in the floor.”_

“ _He pushed us all in and stood over us!”_ Yanfang pushed herself to look over Jiawei. _“He kept his head under the floor board, but his back was exposed! He's really hurt! His back is black!”_

Toudai's eyes widened to the statement. His first instinct was to look at the injuries, but a quick glance around the environment reminded him where they were. He could take all the time in the world to look at his injuries in a bit, but right now, he needed to get Rubi to safety.

“Come on, Rubi!” Toudai wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck. “Up the slope! We'll be safe from the fire there!”

Rubi whimpered, but he didn't move against him. They started walking to the slope. It was a slow journey despite being a short distance. Rubi was trying to favor his front left paw and his back right paw. He certainly couldn't walk like that, so he had to put one of those paws down. It made him whimper and whine every time. Because of that, his steps were short and slow.

Toudai clenched his teeth. He looked at the slope again.

_**'How's he going to make it up if he can't use two of his feet?'** _

The raven didn't know. But he was going to have to. Although the main street wasn't covered in fire, there was no guarantee that the houses closest to the road wouldn't collapse and scatter to where they stood. They wouldn't be save until they were up the slope.

Toudai pulled on Rubi. The wolf barked in pain, but he didn't pull away from the doctor. Toudai saw Xinyi pull away on his other side, but Toudai wasn't scared. He wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Toudai kissed Rubi's muzzle then rubbed it until Rubi stopped snarling.

Soon enough they were at the bottom of the slope. The wolf wasted no time trying to get up. However, he didn't make it two steps before he started sliding back down.

“ _Yanfeng, Liawei, get down.”_ Xinyi said, _“You're weighing him down.”_

The teacher gestured for the two children to come off Rubi's neck. They obeyed without question as she helped them down.

“ _Laoshi!”_

They looked up. The children at the top of the hill had decided to help. They made a human chain like when they had ran together, holding each others hand to stretch down the slope. Toudai didn't know what the one on top was holding onto, but he wouldn't question it.

“ _Climb up our arms!”_ The child at the end of the chain called, reaching his hand out.

Xinyi nodded and gestured for Yanfeng to go first. The little girl obeyed. Xinyi pushed against her back so that she didn't slide down, the two climbing up the slope to the outstretched hand. Yanfeng grabbed his hand. He tugged her up, in which she reached out with her other arm to grab the boys wrist holding the next kid up. She climbed up them like that, digging her feet deep into the slope and pulling herself alone.

Liawei was next to go up the link. Toudai decided not to watch them any longer as he turned to Rubi.

“Can you transform back, so you can do that?”

Rubi shook his head, panting heavily. His tongue hung out of his mouth and jostled with his breathes.

“Okay, come on. We just need to get up the hill. Then you can rest.”

Toudai took three steps up the slope, digging his feet in. He gestured for Rubi to follow. The giant wolf did. He had to dig his claws in, and unfortunately use both of his front paws to keep himself from sliding. He yelped and whined then snarled in pain.

“I know, I know, baby!” Toudai reached out and put his hands under Rubi's chin. “Just up the hill! Please, come on.”

A growl reverberated in Rubi's throat. Toudai wasn't scared. He cast the wolf a gentle smile.

“Come, my love. You can do it.”

Rubi was huffing hard with his lip pulled back in a snarl. Toudai took another three steps up the slope, holding his arms out to him. Rubi followed without hesitation. The two continued up like that. Toudai would take three steps up, in which Rubi would take one to place his muzzle into Toudai's hands. Up three, up one; up three, up one. It was arduous and no doubt agonizing for Rubi, but they did it all the same.

Toudai turned and looked up to see how far they were from the top of the slope. Turning his torso like that caused his foot to slide. With a gasp, he fell on his rump. He immediately began to slide down the slope. He began to slide towards Rubi and instinctively planned to grab Rubi's leg to stop himself. However, he would be grabbing his injured leg, so he pulled his hands back. He would just slide between his legs and under him then pick himself back up behind the wolf.

However, that plan was gone as soon as it came. Rubi tilted his head down with gaping jaws. He clamped down on Toudai's mid-rift and upper legs and lifted him up. Toudai was basically sitting in his mouth. He grabbed Rubi's muzzle to keep himself from straining his back. The wolf huffed around him and his pants quickly became soaked from the saliva. But, Rubi didn't put him down. He continued to trudge up the hill.

“Rubi, put me down.” Toudai said. “I can walk. You don't need the extra weight.”

Rubi just growled. He continued to trudge up, up, up. Toudai could only hold onto his muzzle. Struggling would just make it harder for Rubi, so he had to allow the wolf to carry him. He looked over to see the link of children were working to pull each other up. Xinyi and the two kids were already at the top. Rubi was only half up the way, and already half the children were climbing up the linked arms.

By the time, all the kids were at the top of the hill, Rubi finally dug his paws into the flat land of the hilltop. He didn't pull himself up all the way. He brought his head over the crest and placed Toudai down first.

The snow clung to his wet clothes, but Toudai didn't care. As soon as he touched ground, he shifted so he could grab the fur of Rubi's neck. He gently pulled the wolf up. Of course, the doctor didn't really pull the giant canine up. It wasn't as if Toudai had any special strength that could move something three times his size. But it made the doctor feel like he was helping, so he did it all the same.

Rubi pushed himself up. Finally, he stood on flat ground—and as soon as he knew that was the case, he collapsed in the snow.

“Rubi!”

Toudai rubbed his hands through the ash-covered fur of his neck, not sure if he was trying to sooth him, feel for injuries, or clean the soot off. He then rushed around, so he could finally looked at this 'black back'. Yanfang wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. The beautiful white fur along his back was completely gone. In it's place were third-degree burns at least. Toudai would suspect they may be fourth-degree burns, but he wouldn't know until he started working on him. It went all along his back, from his shoulder blades to his hindquarters. The area was charred black while the flesh around the wound was pure white, despite there being no fur there. Toudai could also see something sticking out of the wound. He feared it was his spine, in which case it was certainly fourth-degree burns.

Toudai stared at the wound. He knew what was wrong, he knew how to fix it, but he froze on the spot.

_**'Oh, lord, it's so bad. There's no way I can amputate his back. His spine...but his spines already exposed! How was he even walking with his spine showing?! These have to be fourth degree burns! The only way I can treat it is by cutting away the dead flesh. But I can't do that to his back! His spine will get no support if I cut away the muscles!'** _

“Hey.”

_**'And what if it's not a fourth-degree burn and I just start hacking away? I could be destroying any positive growth because I misdiagnosed him!'** _

“Laoshi.”

_**'Where would I even start?! His entire back is destroyed! What would Diamond do?! Would he just cut his loses and euthanize him, put him out of his misery so he doesn't suffer anymore? No, Diamond would try everything he could first.'** _

“Laoshi!”

_**'Oh, Dad! Out of all the times I've needed you in the past, now is definitely that time! I don't know what to do! Dad would know what to do! I can't do this! I can't help him! Rubi's going to die and I don't know—'** _

Toudai was slapped hard. His eyes stretched wide to the sudden pain in his cheek. He recoiled with a gasp of shock and he held his throbbing face. He looked at his assailant. A burly man in multiple layers was glaring at him. Toudai knew him Jiawei's father, Mr Xie. He remembered meeting him when the boy got sick.

“You are a doctor, yes?” The man spoke in Japanese. “You claimed to be a doctor when you gave Jiawei medicine.”

Toudai stared for a moment, before hesitantly saying. “I...I am...Yes...”

“Then help him!” The man pointed to Rubi. “This man saved my son's life! I am forever in his debt, so I will not watch him die!”

He looked at Rubi with a softer gaze.

“But I am no doctor. I cannot help him like you can.”

Toudai stared for a moment before he glared. “But he...You've seen him. You know what he is now. How do I know you won't kill him?”

“I just said I am in his debt! I don't care if he's half wolf, full wolf or something else entirely, my son is alive because of him. He became terribly injured to protect Jiawei. I will not let him die, nor will I let anyone else try to kill him. Besides, out of everything happening right now,” He gestured to the burning town, “I think the least of our concerns is if an animal can turn into a man.”

He certainly had a valid point. But would everyone agree with him? Would everyone spare Rubi because he saved the children? Because he wasn't top priority right now?

Toudai wasn't sure he could trust that at all, but at the end, he decided to just take the statement with a grain of salt. Whether he could trust the town wasn't his main concern right now.

Toudai's brows furrowed as he clenched his teeth. He felt his hands shaking as his heart started beating. “But I don't know—Where do I even start?! I-I'm not good enough! My father could do this, but I—”

“Is your father here?”

“...No, he...He died years ago.”

“Then you will have to be good enough.”

“But I—”

“If you do not try, he will die! Do you want that?!”

Toudai clenched his teeth. His hands started shaking. The hunter was right. He had to try! He had to do _something_! But what if he tried and it still amounted to nothing? What if he messed up? What if he—

Toudai closed his eyes and put his face in his hands. He breathed in deeply through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth. His thundering heart immediately started to abate.

_**'I can't panic. A doctor needs to be calm and collected in front of patients, no matter the circumstances. Dad taught you that.'** _

He breathed in and out. In and out. One more breath and he felt the tremble in his hands vanish.

He opened his eyes, staring down at the black wound. He observed it for a long second. Charred flesh, white flesh, but no bones were exposed. What Toudai had thought was his spine was actually just a long piece of wood sticking out of his back. Rubi probably couldn't feel it since his nerve endings were burnt away.

Toudai was confident that what he looked at was a a third-degree burn. Third-degrees were practically the same as fourth-degrees. Charred or white flesh with damage to all layers of the skin and damaged nerve endings. Luckily, that means that regardless if he had a third or fourth-degree burn, Rubi wasn't in pain. However, a fourth-degree burn also damaged tendons and muscles, and would usually burn away the skin to expose bone. Such burns usually killed the entire area, so cutting away the dead flesh would be redundant. In such a case, it would be better to just amputate the limb.

Toudai couldn't see any bone, so he could only assume it was a third-degree. But considering what caused the injury, he couldn't rule out the notion that it was a fourth-degree. The soot may be tricking him to think it was charred flesh. Toudai would have to clean the wound first to make a proper assessment.

But that's where Toudai could start.

The doctor nodded and slung his duffle bag around. He yanked it open and pulled out his medical bag. He had full supplies since he hadn't used it very much. He would never complain about not having work again. Not only did he get what he wished for, but since he hadn't been busy he had everything he would need to help Rubi.

“Alright,” Toudai said and looked at Mr. Xie, “I need your aide.”

The man cocked a brow. “What do you need?”

“We need to remove this piece of wood.” Toudai gesture towards it. “And any others that may be lodged in him.

“Won't he bleed out?”

“He'll bleed out all the same if it's not removed. Everything piercing him needs to be removed else it'll only get worse.”

Mr. Xie didn't look certain, but regardless, he nodded. He gestured for Toudai to move, which he did. The raven turned his back on the hunter as he pulled out a bear pelt. He quickly unfolded it and lied it out. He heard a terrible squelching sound behind him, but Rubi made no noise.

“Try not to be rough.” Toudai stated, “There will be splinters, but we need to mitigate the damage as best we can.”

“I don't know what that word means in Taiwanese.”

“ _Mitigate.”_ Toudai stated in Mr. Xie's native tongue.

“Ah, understood.”

Toudai looked around. There were certainly many injured people. The children were all alright—at least the ones from the school—but a good number of the adults had similar burns as well. A quick glance showed that Rubi had the worse, but he could see charred flesh on some limbs, so he couldn't say for sure. He could also see people holding their limbs, maybe from broken bones, and blood from cuts. What's more, almost everyone was coughing a lung.

“ _Peishan, Tingwei, Yuxuan,_ _come here a moment!_ ”

The three children he called for perked. Tingwei and Yuxuan rushed over quickly, but Peishan looked at her parents with uncertainty before walking over.

“ _You told me you wanted to be doctors when you grew up, right?_ ” Toudai looked at the three, kneeling before them so he could be more eye level.

They nodded.

“ _Now's the time to see if you've got what it takes._ ” Toudai grabbed Yuxuan and Peishan's arms—Tingwei was in the middle—as gently as he could as he cast them a gentle smile. “ _I'm going to need all the help I can get._ ”

Tingwei looked nervous but smiled. Yuxuan nodded eagerly. Peishan took a step back as she pulled her arm away.

“ _We can do it!_ ” Tingwei boasted. “ _Tell us what to do!_ ”

Toudai looked at Peishan. He quickly shook his head. _“If you do not want to then you do not have to. I will not force you help me.”_

Peishan looked uncertain. She looked from Rubi to Toudai, then to the injured people behind them. He pursed her lips. However, she nodded. She looked at Toudai with a scared looked as she nodded again.

“ _I'll-I'll help. I want to help.”_ She said.

Toudai cast her a gentle smile as he reached a hand out. He gripped her hand softly and rubbed the back of it with his thumb in reassurance. He thennodded and looked at all three of them.

“ _I just need you three to do some simple tasks. I need everyone to be categorized by their injuries—I need to know who I need to see immediately and who can wait the longest. I also need someone to distribute honey to those coughing._ ”

“ _Honey?_ ” Peishan voiced.

Toudai nodded. “ _Honey can reduce inflammation in the bronchial tubes—the windpipes. It's good for coughs, and in cases of smoke inhalation, honey can help them breathe properly._ ”

They all nodded. Toudai reached into his bag and pulled out a jar of honey. He had two jar's worth and he was certainly going to need it. He took out a spoon. He twisted the metal ring off then peeled away the cloth of a lid.

“ _Peishan_ , _can you go around to everyone and give out the honey?_ ”

The ten-year-old nodded quickly, seemingly happy that she was getting the easy task. Toudai dipped the honey into the jar, coating half the spoon. He then put it in his own mouth. He pulled out a clean rag from his bag, in which once he cleaned off the spoon, he took it out of his mouth and wiped it off. He then passed the jar, spoon, and rag over.

“ _Everyone gets some,_ ” Toudai stated, “ _including you three and everyone that was in the school. Those that are not coughing, give them half a spoon. Those who are coughing, but not badly, give them a full spoon. Those that are coughing hard, give them two spoonfuls. Do you understand?_ ”

“ _Yes._ ”

“ _Repeat it back to me._ ”

“... _Everyone gets some honey. Bad coughs gets two spoons, okay coughs get one, and no coughs get half-a-spoon._ ”

Toudai smiled softly. “ _That's right. Good job._ ”

Peishan nodded with a smile. She then took the spoon and dipped it into the jar. She coated most of the spoon.

“ _Less than that for half-a-spoon._ ” Toudai stated, “ _I've only got two jars of honey and we've got to make these last until we can get more. Honey also has healing properties, so I'll be using a lot of it on the bad burns._ ”

She stared wide-eyed before nodding vigorously. She put the spoonful in her mouth quickly, wiped it off on the rag, then dipped it back into the honey. She put less on the spoon this time, coating half the spoon like Toudai wanted.

“ _Yes, that's perfect._ ” Toudai said.

She smiled and passed the spoon to Tingwei. The boy took the spoon and lapped it up quickly. He passed it back completely clean. Peishan wiped it off, dipped it in the jar again, covered half the spoon and handed it to Yuxuan. The other boy took it, put it in his mouth, and sucked on it for a moment. He savored the flavor before finally passing it back.

Peishan then bowed slightly and ran off.

“ _Now, you two,_ ” Toudai put his hands into his bag and pulled out two parchments of paper, two fountain pens, and two inkwells. He looked at the two ten-year-old boys. “ _I need you to find out who's badly hurt and who isn't. I need you to make a list of names and their injuries, then mark who's priority—the most important. Burns like Rubi's take priority. If someone has a broken bone that is sticking out, they also are the most important. If anyone has a bad burn like Rubi's, you can see the bone and even the bone looks burnt, stop what you're doing and come get me immediately!_ ”

They nodded. “ _Right!_ ”

“ _If they're bleeding badly and look pale or seem like they're going to faint, then that is something to comes get me immediately. I—_ ”

“ _I can take care of those one._ ” Mr. Xie said.

They all looked at him. The hunter seemed to be done pulling out everything from Rubi's body, pieces of wood sitting behind the giant wolf.

“ _I've done all I could for the langren. But I know how to stop bleeding and stitch up wounds._ ”

“ _Are you sure?_ ”

“ _Yes. All hunters should know how to stitch up a wound in case they get injured by their game miles away from town._ ”

Toudai nodded then looked at the boys. “ _Okay, so if you find anyone bleeding that bad, find Xie-xiansheng instead._ ”

He pointed to the hunter before looking at him.

“ _Thank you, Xie-xiansheng._ For everything.” Toudai said the last sentence in Japanese so the boys wouldn't know what he said.

Mr. Xie nodded.

Toudai looked back to the boys. “ _So, repeat it back to me._ ”

“ _Mark everyone wounded down._ ” Tingwei said.

“ _Anyone with wounds like Rubi's, but we can see the bone and that looks burnt to, come get you immediately._ ” Yuxuan stated.

“ _Black burns are top list, broken bones where we can see them are top list._ ”

Toudai nodded. “ _One more thing to remember. If you see a burn like Rubi's, and you see the bone but the bone doesn't looked burned, then it's as bad as Rubi's and should just be put at the top of the list. Out of those three top listers, I want burn with bone exposed as number one, broken bone exposed number two, and black burns number three._ ”

They both nodded.

“ _Top-top is black burn with bone, top is seeable broken bone, and last top is Rubi's burns._ ” Tingwei repeated.

“ _And the burns with blisters and normal broken bones can wait?_ ” Yuxuan asked.

“ _That's right._ ” Toudai nodded. “ _They won't kill anyone for quite some time where as the other wounds will kill them quickly._ ”

The boys nodded. “ _Got it! We can do this!_ ”

Toudai smiled and patted their arms. “ _Good, I'm counting on you_.”

They both nodded. With writing utensils in hand, they ran off to do as asked.

Toudai then turned to Rubi. The gray wolf's flank was rising and falling quickly. He was still panting heavily. Toudai stood and rushed over to his face. His eyes were closed. Toudai didn't know if he was sleeping and breathing that hard, or if he was just resting, but either or way it wasn't good.

The raven knelt down to Rubi and kissed his muzzle. His hands rubbed between his eyes and his cheek.

“Rubi, I need you to transform back for me.”

His eyes opened slightly.

“Your injury's too big. You need to be smaller, so I can help you better.”

The wolf groaned. But before Toudai could say anything else, he shifted. He struggled to stand and in the end he decided not to. Instead, he pushed Toudai away with his nose. The doctor stood and backed away, grabbing Mr. Xie's arm and tugging him away as well.

In the next moment, Rubi's bones began to pop. The wolf whimpered as his body jolted. Fur fell off him in clumps, his bones shifted under his body. Toudai saw his spine shuddered, which made him worry about his injuries. He shrunk significantly as his tail inverted into his body and his ears moved down to the side of his head.

Soon enough, a naked man with ash-covered white hair lied on the ground, surrounded by a pile of fur. Toudai reached into his bag and pulled out a towel. It would have to do until Toudai could get him dressed. He rushed over and placed it over his rump.

He then pulled the pelt he had lied out earlier closer to Rubi. He pressed it against the werewolf's side.

“Can you move to lie on the pelt, Rubi?” Toudai asked.

“I don't want to move...” Rubi said through clenched teeth. “The snow feels nice.”

“No, Rubi, you can't.” Toudai kissed the top of his head, rubbing his hands over his neck and hair. “We can't have you getting hypothermia on top of these terrible burns. You have to get on the pelt, my love.”

Rubi groaned, turning his head to look up at him. There was so much fatigue in his eyes.

“I know. I know it hurts and I know your tir—.”

“It doesn't...Hurt anymore...It hurt...Really bad at first...But that went away...Really soon...too...”

Toudai kissed his sooty hair again.“That's good. I'm glad you're not suffering.”

“Not suffer...ing but...I'm just...Really tired...”

“I know, darling. But you just have to move a little bit. Just a little, Rubi.”

The white wolf didn't respond.

“Here.” Mr. Xie said.

Toudai looked up at him. The hunter stood over Rubi, straddling his back.

“I lift him up, you move the pelt under him.”

Toudai wasn't certain about that. But if Rubi couldn't move then it was the only other option.

“...Be gentle with him.” Toudai said.

“I'll be as gentle as I can be.”

It would have to do. Toudai grabbed the edge of the pelt while Mr. Xie bent down. The hunter put his hands under Rubi's chest, being careful not to touch the burns with his sleeves. He lifted Rubi's chest. Toudai pulled the pelt under him. He put his down gently. Rubi grabbed the pelt hard.

Mr. Xie moved down to repeat the same action, gently lifting Rubi's hips. Although unintentional, it coaxed the white wolf to stand up on his knees. Toudai quickly pulled the pelt under him. Rubi flopped back down harshly, giving no indication of pain other than a groan. Mr. Xie straightened the pelt under his knees and soon enough, Rubi was completely on the bear fur.

Toudai fixed the towel again, unfolding it completely so it covered more of his legs. It would have to be a blanket for now. The doctor then rubbed his hands through Rubi's hair.

“You did good, beloved.” Toudai said, “You did very good.”

“...Yeah...Everyone...Got out...”

“Yes, they did.”

“Sorry, Toudai...but I think...I'm scared of fire again...”

Toudai was quiet for a moment. Then he held back a laugh. “It's alright. I think after today, I'm scared of fire too.”

Rubi let out a breathy chuckle. “Yeah, right. You're...Not scared of...Anything...”

 _ **'That's not true.'**_ Toudai leaned down and kissed Rubi's head before rubbing his face into his ash-covered hair. _**'I'm terrified of losing you.'**_

Toudai couldn't dare say that aloud, else he risk giving that fear more weight than it already had. No, he couldn't let himself waver. He had a job to do and he was set on doing it.

“I'll take care of you, Rubi.” Toudai whispered. “We're not burning in hell yet and you can't go without me.”

Rubi was quiet for a moment. Then he reached a hand up and grabbed Toudai's wrist. “Ah, right...We made...That promise. Or was it... A deal? It was so long ago...I don't really remember...”

“I don't think it was either. I think it was a question. 'Are you okay with burning in hell with me?'”

“Right...Right...” Rubi closed his eyes, letting out a shuttering breath. “I'm not...Going anywhere...Without you...So guess...I'm stuck here...For now...”

Toudai felt like he was going to cry with relief. _**'If he can crack jokes then he's got plenty of energy. He's not giving up anytime soon. I'm not going to lose him.'**_

Toudai kissed the top of Rubi's head. He then sat up. He wiped away any soot that may have gotten on his face with his sleeve. He then stood.

“ _To all those who aren't injured,_ ” Toudai called, his voice echoing off the clearing, “ _We need to do all we can to help! We need to get shelters made and fires started immediately!_ ”

“ _Fires?!”_

“ _Are you fucking serious?!”_

“ _Look around you, we're surrounded by fire!”_

“ _So what, you idiots! It's still winter and it's the middle of the night!”_

“ _She's right, we need to keep everyone warm!”_

“ _That's right!”_ Toudai called. _“Dawn is still far off and those who have burns are more-likely to get hypothermia since they're veins were burned away! Lack of blood flow makes people cold because the blood is what warms the body! I will do what I can to help the burns but if they freeze, I can't do anything without a fire!”_

He got a few glares but more than a few got up to get to work.

“ _I have blankets and animal pelts!_ ” Toudai called. _“Not many, so make due with what we have!”_

“ _Right!_ ”

Three adults rushed up to Toudai. Quickly, the raven pulled out all the blankets and pelts from his bag. Three blankets and two pelts. He then grabbed Rubi's duffle and pulled them out. Three blankets and three pelts.

_**'I should have packed more for the journey. If only I had the rest of the packs blankets too. Oh, god, I hope Sakuraya and Shitsuo are okay. And Shizuo-san...'** _

Toudai looked out over the town again. He didn't see any black figures flying through the sky nor any beams of golden light on the ground. He could only assume the fight was over. Which meant Izaya was...

Toudai clenched his teeth and turned away. He had to focus now. He had a long night ahead of him and many people to help. He couldn't let his mind wander anywhere else.

With his priorities set straight, he wasted no time getting to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! 86 pages.
> 
> Yay, it was about as many chapters as I expected it to be. Thank you, me, for not writing more than needed.  
> With this done, we've got one more one-shot, then we're onto the Izaya/Shizuo story. So, stick around just a tad bit longer.  
> Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, kudo, and all that jazz! See you in the next one!  
> KCK


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